Men’s Hoops Starts Fast in Exhibition Win over Saint Francis

Monday, November 6

Muncie, Ind.

7:00 PM ET

Ball State University

Saint Francis (Ind.) (Exhibition)

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

Men’s Hoops Starts Fast in Exhibition Win over Saint Francis

November 06, 2017 | Men's Basketball

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Tahjai Teague, Zach Gunn post double-doubles in 91-67 victory

MUNCIE, Ind. -- It's no secret the Ball State men's basketball team returns a lot of experience on its roster this season. In Monday night's 91-67 exhibition victory over Saint Francis (Ind.), the new guys showed they can play, too.

In their first action in a Ball State uniform, transfer guard Jontrell Walker scored a game-high 14 points, freshman forward Zach Gunn racked up a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds), and rookie guard Ishmael El-Amin registered eight points and four assists. Freshman big man Blake Huggins also made a late appearance and scored five points in just three minutes.

The familiar faces did their part, as well. Tahjai Teague notched a double-double of his own with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while All-MAC point guard Tayler Persons matched him with 13 points.

Ball State drilled 9 of 17 attempts from 3-point range and connected on 60 percent of its shots in the opening half to build a 48-27 lead at the break. In the second half, 13 of the Cardinals' 16 makes came inside the 3-point line.

"We can shoot it for sure," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "In the second half, we got it inside a lot more. Part of that was dictated by the way they were defending. They defended differently in the two halves. That's good for us to see that and have to adjust to it."

Saint Francis, the No. 3-ranked team in NAIA Division II, found its shooting stroke from the outside in the second half and made a run to trim the Ball State lead to eight. But a 13-0 BSU run helped to put the game away.

By the end of the night, 10 Ball State players found the scoring column, and seven of them scored at least eight points.

"Saint Francis challenges you in different ways," Whitford said. "They play four guards, and they spread you out. They can shoot it so well that if you make a mistake, they can make you pay quickly. On the other end, they just play different than we play, so it forces you to do different things. I thought our guys approached it the right way."

Ball State will open the regular season Friday with a 7 p.m. tip at Dayton. The Cardinals will play five of their first six on the road with the home opener set for Nov. 17 against Stony Brook.