Men’s Hoops Welcomes Stony Brook for Friday Home Opener

Friday, November 17

Muncie, Ind.

7:00 PM ET

Ball State University

Stony Brook

Photo by: Kyle Crawford

Men’s Hoops Welcomes Stony Brook for Friday Home Opener

November 16, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Cardinals set for lone home game in first six games of season

Game 3
Ball State (0-2, 0-0 MAC) vs. Stony Brook (0-2, 0-0 America East)
Friday, Nov. 17 (7 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats

A Look at the Cardinals
• Ball State opens its home schedule Friday against Stony Brook with its second of four games as part to the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational. The Cardinals and Seawolves will be meeting for the first time ever.

• Ball State is coming off a 108-69 loss Wednesday at Oklahoma. Junior guard Jontrell Walker led the Cardinals with 23 points, while sophomore forward Kyle Mallers scored a career-high 17. BSU's other defeat came on a buzzer beater last week at Dayton.

• The Cardinals are in the midst of a stretch in which they play five games in 11 days. The stretch began Wednesday at Oklahoma and concludes Nov. 25 at Indiana State. During those 11 days, BSU will travel approximately 7,500 miles.

• Junior point guard Tayler Persons, a preseason All-MAC selection, handed out eight assists at Dayton and six at Oklahoma. Persons' 7.0 assists-per-game average ranks second in the league to Miami's Darrian Ringo (8.0).

• Sophomore forward Tahjai Teague is averaging a double-double through two games at 10.0 points and 10.5 rebounds. He has grabbed double-figure rebounds in both regular season games plus the Cardinals' exhibition contest.

• The Cardinals are playing their fifth season under head coach James Whitford, coming off back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time since 1991-92 and 1992-93. BSU shared the MAC West Division title in each of the past two seasons, winning the division in consecutive years for the first time since the league implemented divisions in 1998.

Scouting Stony Brook
• Stony Brook opened the season with a 76-61 loss to Maryland and then dropped a 72-64 decision at UConn. The Seawolves led by as many as eight points in the second half at UConn.
• Stony Brook features a pair of double-figure scorers through two games -- Tyrell Sturdivant (14.0 ppg) and Akwasi Yeboah (11.5 ppg). The Seawolves are forcing an average of 17.0 turnovers per game.
• The Seawolves have played in six consecutive postseasons, including the 2016 NCAA tournament.
• Stony Brook went 18-14 last year, earning a berth in the CBI after finishing second in the America East Conference behind Vermont with a 12-4 league record.
• Stony Brook is in its second season under head coach Jeff Boals, a former player in the MAC at Ohio. The Seawolves have another MAC connection on staff with former Ohio guard and Kent State head coach Geno Ford as an assistant.

Big Bench
• Through two games, 44.5 percent of Ball State's scoring has come from its bench.
• The Cardinals' bench outscored Dayton's 31-11 in the opener, led by Zach Gunn's 11.
• BSU's bench outscored Oklahoma 34-30, led by a game-high 23 points from Jontrell Walker.