Tuesday, February 14
DeKalb, IL
8:00 PM CT (9:00 ET)
Ball State University
16-10 (7-6MAC)
81
at
72
Northern Illinois
14-12 (6-7MAC)
1
2
OT 1
F
Ball State
31
30
20
81
Northern Illinois
39
22
11
72
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Men’s Hoops Rallies for Key OT Win at NIU
February 15, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Cardinals take over sole possession of first place in MAC West
DEKALB, Ill. -- The Ball State men's basketball team never led in regulation Tuesday at Northern Illinois, but the Cardinals never trailed in overtime.
Ball State scored the first 11 points of the extra period and held off the Huskies for an 81-72 victory to take over sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
Ryan Weber led the Cardinals with 23 points. He scored his 1,000th career point on a putback early in the second half, but his biggest bucket came with 12 seconds to play in regulation.
Weber drilled a transition 3-pointer to knot the game at 61-all, the first tie since the game was scoreless. It was one of seven treys in the game for the senior from Indianapolis.
The Cardinals (16-10, 7-6 MAC) got a stop on the other end to force OT. It was just one in a string of defensive stops down the stretch. Northern Illinois went the final 8 minutes of regulation without a field goal as the Cardinals rallied from eight points down to tie it up.
"We played sloppy for a lot of the game, and the thing I was proud of was we didn't let that impact our effort on defense," Ball State coach James Whitford said.
The Cardinals scored the final eight points of regulation and just added to it in overtime, stretching their run to 19-0 before Northern Illinois scored its first points of overtime.
The Huskies (14-12, 6-7 MAC) then scored seven straight to cut the lead to four, but Weber came up with another big 3 to stretch the lead back to 75-68. The Cardinals were able to seal the game at the free throw line down the stretch.
Jeremie Tyler added 18 points, while Tayler Persons ran the Ball State offense with 13 assists, one shy of his career high. Trey Moses logged his sixth double-double of the season and second straight with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Ball State trailed by as many as 11 points in both halves and was down 61-53 before rallying down the stretch to tie it up. The Cardinals overcame 21 turnovers on the night.
Ball State knocked down 14 3-pointers, its most against a Division I opponent this season, including Weber's seven and four from Tyler.
The Cardinals will return to action Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. tipoff at Central Michigan. They will return home next Tuesday to host Eastern Michigan.
Ball State scored the first 11 points of the extra period and held off the Huskies for an 81-72 victory to take over sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
Ryan Weber led the Cardinals with 23 points. He scored his 1,000th career point on a putback early in the second half, but his biggest bucket came with 12 seconds to play in regulation.
Weber drilled a transition 3-pointer to knot the game at 61-all, the first tie since the game was scoreless. It was one of seven treys in the game for the senior from Indianapolis.
The Cardinals (16-10, 7-6 MAC) got a stop on the other end to force OT. It was just one in a string of defensive stops down the stretch. Northern Illinois went the final 8 minutes of regulation without a field goal as the Cardinals rallied from eight points down to tie it up.
"We played sloppy for a lot of the game, and the thing I was proud of was we didn't let that impact our effort on defense," Ball State coach James Whitford said.
The Cardinals scored the final eight points of regulation and just added to it in overtime, stretching their run to 19-0 before Northern Illinois scored its first points of overtime.
The Huskies (14-12, 6-7 MAC) then scored seven straight to cut the lead to four, but Weber came up with another big 3 to stretch the lead back to 75-68. The Cardinals were able to seal the game at the free throw line down the stretch.
Jeremie Tyler added 18 points, while Tayler Persons ran the Ball State offense with 13 assists, one shy of his career high. Trey Moses logged his sixth double-double of the season and second straight with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Ball State trailed by as many as 11 points in both halves and was down 61-53 before rallying down the stretch to tie it up. The Cardinals overcame 21 turnovers on the night.
Ball State knocked down 14 3-pointers, its most against a Division I opponent this season, including Weber's seven and four from Tyler.
The Cardinals will return to action Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. tipoff at Central Michigan. They will return home next Tuesday to host Eastern Michigan.
Team Stats
BSU
NIU
FG%
.444
.418
3FG%
.389
.462
FT%
1.000
.667
RB
40
37
TO
21
17
STL
9
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
7
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball // Armoni Zeigler
Wednesday, September 10
Men's Basketball // Armoni Zeigler - Heart of the Cardinal Podcast
Tuesday, September 09
Men's Basketball // Jai Anthoni Bearden
Wednesday, August 20
Men's Basketball // Jai Anthoni Bearden - Heart of the Cardinal Podcast
Wednesday, August 20