Saturday, February 18
Mount Pleasant, MI
4:30 PM ET
Ball State University
17-10, 8-6MAC
109
at
100
Central Michigan
16-11, 6-8MAC
1
2
OT 1
F
Ball State
47
43
19
109
Central Michigan
40
50
10
100
Photo by: Jimmy Mitchell
Another OT Win as Men’s Hoops Stays atop MAC West
February 18, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Tayler Persons scores career-high 32 to lead seven in double figures
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. -- It was another road game and another overtime victory for the Ball State men's basketball team.
Tayler Persons scored a career-high 32 points to lead seven double-figure scorers Saturday as the Cardinals held off Central Michigan 109-100 at McGuirk Arena.
The second straight OT road win kept Ball State (17-10, 8-6 MAC) alone atop the Mid-American Conference West Division standings. The Cardinals will return home to host Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Tuesday for #ChirpChirp Social Media Night at Worthen Arena.
"We're playing good basketball," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "We've really played well three and a half of the past four games. Sometimes you win these ones, and sometimes you lose them. But for us to come on the road and get back-to-back wins is huge for us."
Trey Moses (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Franko House (11 points, 10 boards) finished with double-doubles as the Cardinals swept the season series from the Chippewas (16-11, 6-8 MAC). For Moses, it was his third in a row.
Francis Kiapway matched his season-high with 18 points, while Ryan Weber (12), Sean Sellers (11) and Tahjai Teague (11) also scored double figures.
Ball State used an eight-point spurt from Kiapway in the final 90 seconds of the first half to build a 47-40 lead at the break. The Cardinals then led for all but 18 seconds of the second half.
Braylon Rayson's fall-away 3-pointer from the corner tied the game at 90. The Cardinals had the last possession, but Kiapway's 3 in the final seconds was off the mark, and the game went to overtime.
Just like Tuesday night at Northern Illinois, Ball State controlled the extra period.
Central Michigan grabbed the first lead on a Cecil Williams 3-point play. But the Cardinals followed with an 8-1 run, including a big 3-pointer from Sellers when the game was tied, to regain command. Ball State scored its final 12 points at the free throw line as Central Michigan fouled to try to stay in the game.
"I thought we played with great composure, especially at the end of the game," Whitford said. "We had two bad possessions on offense at the end of regulation, and then they opened up with a 3-point play to start the overtime. It would have been easy for us to fold, but we didn't."
Central Michigan's Marcus Keene, the nation's leading scorer, had 40 points but needed 36 shots to get there. He went 6 for 20 from 3-point range. Rayson added 34 points.
Persons scored 23 of his 32 points after halftime to keep the Cardinals in front. He did a lot of his damage by getting in the paint for short jumpers, finishing the game 11 for 16 from inside the arc.
Ball State finished the game at 52 percent from the floor and knocked down 12 of 31 from 3-point range, including four treys each for Kiapway and Weber.
The Cardinals managed to win the game despite serious foul trouble. House and Moses both had four fouls with nine minutes left in regulation but managed to avoid picking up a fifth. Kiapway and Sellers both fouled out in overtime.
Ball State's upcoming home game Tuesday against Eastern Michigan is the first of four remaining contests in the regular season. The Cardinals hold a one-game lead over Toledo and Western Michigan in the West Division standings.
Tayler Persons scored a career-high 32 points to lead seven double-figure scorers Saturday as the Cardinals held off Central Michigan 109-100 at McGuirk Arena.
The second straight OT road win kept Ball State (17-10, 8-6 MAC) alone atop the Mid-American Conference West Division standings. The Cardinals will return home to host Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Tuesday for #ChirpChirp Social Media Night at Worthen Arena.
"We're playing good basketball," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "We've really played well three and a half of the past four games. Sometimes you win these ones, and sometimes you lose them. But for us to come on the road and get back-to-back wins is huge for us."
Trey Moses (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Franko House (11 points, 10 boards) finished with double-doubles as the Cardinals swept the season series from the Chippewas (16-11, 6-8 MAC). For Moses, it was his third in a row.
Francis Kiapway matched his season-high with 18 points, while Ryan Weber (12), Sean Sellers (11) and Tahjai Teague (11) also scored double figures.
Ball State used an eight-point spurt from Kiapway in the final 90 seconds of the first half to build a 47-40 lead at the break. The Cardinals then led for all but 18 seconds of the second half.
Braylon Rayson's fall-away 3-pointer from the corner tied the game at 90. The Cardinals had the last possession, but Kiapway's 3 in the final seconds was off the mark, and the game went to overtime.
Just like Tuesday night at Northern Illinois, Ball State controlled the extra period.
Central Michigan grabbed the first lead on a Cecil Williams 3-point play. But the Cardinals followed with an 8-1 run, including a big 3-pointer from Sellers when the game was tied, to regain command. Ball State scored its final 12 points at the free throw line as Central Michigan fouled to try to stay in the game.
"I thought we played with great composure, especially at the end of the game," Whitford said. "We had two bad possessions on offense at the end of regulation, and then they opened up with a 3-point play to start the overtime. It would have been easy for us to fold, but we didn't."
Central Michigan's Marcus Keene, the nation's leading scorer, had 40 points but needed 36 shots to get there. He went 6 for 20 from 3-point range. Rayson added 34 points.
Persons scored 23 of his 32 points after halftime to keep the Cardinals in front. He did a lot of his damage by getting in the paint for short jumpers, finishing the game 11 for 16 from inside the arc.
Ball State finished the game at 52 percent from the floor and knocked down 12 of 31 from 3-point range, including four treys each for Kiapway and Weber.
The Cardinals managed to win the game despite serious foul trouble. House and Moses both had four fouls with nine minutes left in regulation but managed to avoid picking up a fifth. Kiapway and Sellers both fouled out in overtime.
Ball State's upcoming home game Tuesday against Eastern Michigan is the first of four remaining contests in the regular season. The Cardinals hold a one-game lead over Toledo and Western Michigan in the West Division standings.
Team Stats
BSU
CMU
FG%
.521
.368
3FG%
.387
.304
FT%
.724
.710
RB
52
46
TO
16
7
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
32
FGM
12
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ 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