Men’s Hoops Pulls Away from Buffalo, 92-77

Saturday, January 14

Buffalo, NY

2:00 PM ET

Ball State University

11-6, 2-2MAC

Buffalo

7-10, 1-3MAC

Ball State

Buffalo

January 14, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score PDF Box Score Coach Whitford Post-Game

Cardinals place six in double figures in key MAC road win

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Ball State men's basketball team went on the road Saturday and took down a Buffalo team that has played in back-to-back NCAA tournaments.

The Cardinals pulled away down the stretch for a 92-77 victory behind six double-figure scorers.

Jeremie Tyler, Ryan Weber and Tayler Persons led the way with 17 points each. Franko House logged his third double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Francis Kiapway and Sean Sellers both scored 10.

Ball State (11-6) won a second straight league game to even its Mid-American Conference record at 2-2. Buffalo (7-10) fell to 1-3 in MAC play.

"We were focused all week in practice," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "Our process has significantly improved; it had to. We had a good week, and this is the model for us. It doesn't guarantee you're going to win, but it gives you the best chance. Obviously this was a big road win for us."

Ball State used a 10-3 run to close out the first half and take a 43-34 lead into the locker room on a last-second 3-pointer from Sellers. Buffalo came out of gates quickly in the second half and grabbed a 49-48 advantage less than five minutes after the break.

But Ball State withstood the storm. The Cardinals re-took a slim lead, which they held for much of the second half. Then they put the Bulls away in the final minutes.

With Ball State leading 73-70 nearing the 4-minute mark, Weber drained a 3-pointer that started an 11-0 run. When House capped it with a lay-in with 2:37 to play, the Cardinals' three-point lead had swelled to 84-70. From there, they polished it off at the free throw line.

Persons ran the Ball State offense with six assists and only one turnover on the afternoon. The Cardinals' nine turnovers as a team were their fewest this season.

"That's hard to do against a team that pressures as much as they do," Whitford said. "That's an incredible stat line (for Persons)."

Persons and House both played down the stretch through foul trouble. Both had their fourth foul with 10 minutes remaining in the game but were able to avoid a fifth.

But Ball State wasn't playing careful as a team. The Cardinals were diving for loose balls and keeping plays alive. Most of the 50-50 balls in the game seemed to wind up in their hands.

One play that summed up that hustle came midway through the second half after Ball State had sustained Buffalo's rally. The Cardinals held a one-point lead when Trey Moses went diving to the floor to save a possession and kicked the ball to Weber for one of his three 3-pointers in the game.

"Those are the difference makers in close games," Whitford said. "You need those, and we got every one of them tonight. I'm really proud of our guys."

Moses finished with a game-high 14 rebounds, including nine in the first half alone, though the Cardinals were outrebounded for just the third time this season by a physical Buffalo team.

Persons scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, including six at the free throw line down the stretch as Buffalo tried to extend the game. Tyler scored 10 of his after the break.

Ball State will return home to host its first MAC West Division opponent of the season Tuesday. The Cardinals will tip against Central Michigan at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena.