Lightning Strikes Twice as Persons' 3-Ball Lifts Men's Hoops over Valpo

Saturday, December 9

Muncie, Ind.

2:00 PM ET

Ball State University

6-4

Valparaiso

8-2

Valparaiso

Ball State

Photo by: Michael Hickey

Lightning Strikes Twice as Persons' 3-Ball Lifts Men's Hoops over Valpo

December 09, 2017 | Men's Basketball

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Cardinals push winning streak to five on Persons' 3 in closing seconds

MUNCIE, Ind. -- Tayler Persons and the Ball State men's basketball team are starting to make a habit of two things … big wins and late-game heroics.

Persons hit a second straight game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds Saturday as the Cardinals defeated Valparaiso 71-70 in front of more than 5,000 fans at Worthen Arena.

"It was kind of the same thing that happened in the Notre Dame game," Persons said. "It was good defense. I originally just tried to go to the rim because we were down two, but he shut that off and I just made a tough shot over another good defender."

Persons hit an eerily similar game-winner just four days ago at No. 8 Notre Dame, garnering national attention for the Cardinals. Fresh off that win, Ball State (6-4) knocked off a second straight top-100 opponent to run its winning streak to five games.

"It's big," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "They're a great program. They've been really good for a long time. Any time you get a win over Valparaiso, we all recognize what that means."

Persons led all players with 23 points, while Kyle Mallers, Jeremie Tyler and Trey Moses scored 10 each for the Cardinals. Moses scored all 10 of his points in the second half and also led the team with six assists.

Ball State rebounded from a slow shooting start to connect on 55 percent from the floor in the second half against one of the nation's top defensive teams. The Crusaders were the Cardinals' fifth top-100 opponent so far this season, checking in at No. 87 in Ken Pomeroy's ratings.

"I'm just proud of the way our team fought," Persons said. "We kind of were sluggish. We turned it on in the second half. They made a run; we made a run. Just happy to come away with that win."

The Cardinals, who trailed by two at the half, built an 11-point lead after the break. But Valpo (8-2) stormed back to lead 64-57 as the clocked ticked toward 6 minutes to play.

Ball State responded with six straight points, and then it was a back-and-forth game down the stretch. A Persons jumper in the lane with 2:08 to play put the Cardinals back on top 68-67, but that was the last BSU bucket until the closing seconds.

Three free throws during the ensuing stretch put Valpo back ahead by two. But Valpo's John Kiser missed a free throw with 14 seconds left, and Moses grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Persons. From there, it looked like a replay of Tuesday night at Notre Dame.

Persons calmly handled the ball at the top of the key and then let it fly, draining a 3 with 3.3 seconds showing on the clock. Valpo managed to get a contested look from beyond the arc at the buzzer, but it was off the mark as the Worthen Arena crowd went wild.

"I thought it was a great game between two really good college basketball teams," Whitford said. "We didn't play particularly well, and I thought that was a credit to Valparaiso. Their defense has been terrific all year long, and I thought it was terrific again tonight, and that really hurt us.

"But you have to be able to win when things aren't going your way and you're not necessarily playing your best. You have to find other ways to win, and I thought we did that."

After a fast and furious start to the season, Ball State will now get a break for finals week. The Cardinals will return to action Dec. 19 with a 7 p.m. tip against North Florida to continue their six-game home stand.