Ball State University Athletics
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Persons Named MAC West Player of the Week
March 06, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Sophomore guard averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 assists last week
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State sophomore point guard Tayler Persons was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week.
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The Kokomo, Indiana, product averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game last week to help Ball State to the MAC West Division co-championship and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
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Persons scored 31 points Tuesday in an 82-74 win at Toledo to go along with five assists and seven rebounds. He then came up a couple assists shy of a double-double with 14 points and eight helpers in Friday's 87-82 victory over Northern Illinois.
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Persons came out on fire against Toledo, scoring Ball State's first 17 points and 22 of the first 31. He was 8-for-8 from the floor during that stretch, including 6-for-6 from 3-point range, doubling his career-high for 3's in a game in the first eight minutes.
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In the NIU game, Persons became the first Ball State player ever to surpass 500 points and 150 assists in a season. The point guard finished the week with 13 assists and just four turnovers.
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He wrapped up the regular season second in the MAC in assists per game (5.0) and eighth in scoring (16.2), helping the Cardinals reach the 20-win mark and share the MAC West title for the second year in a row. He led Ball State to a top-four seed in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2011.
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Ball State will open tournament play in the quarterfinals Thursday at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena against the winner of Monday night's first-round game between Western Michigan and Miami. Thursday's game will tip at approximately 2:30 p.m. on ESPN3, Buckeye Cable Sports Network and Spectrum Sports.
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The Kokomo, Indiana, product averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game last week to help Ball State to the MAC West Division co-championship and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
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Persons scored 31 points Tuesday in an 82-74 win at Toledo to go along with five assists and seven rebounds. He then came up a couple assists shy of a double-double with 14 points and eight helpers in Friday's 87-82 victory over Northern Illinois.
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Persons came out on fire against Toledo, scoring Ball State's first 17 points and 22 of the first 31. He was 8-for-8 from the floor during that stretch, including 6-for-6 from 3-point range, doubling his career-high for 3's in a game in the first eight minutes.
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In the NIU game, Persons became the first Ball State player ever to surpass 500 points and 150 assists in a season. The point guard finished the week with 13 assists and just four turnovers.
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He wrapped up the regular season second in the MAC in assists per game (5.0) and eighth in scoring (16.2), helping the Cardinals reach the 20-win mark and share the MAC West title for the second year in a row. He led Ball State to a top-four seed in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2011.
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Ball State will open tournament play in the quarterfinals Thursday at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena against the winner of Monday night's first-round game between Western Michigan and Miami. Thursday's game will tip at approximately 2:30 p.m. on ESPN3, Buckeye Cable Sports Network and Spectrum Sports.
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Players Mentioned
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