Saturday, January 27
Muncie, Ind.
Noon ET
Ball State University
13-8, 4-4MAC
111
vs
106
Akron
10-10, 3-5MAC
1
2
OT 1
OT 2
F
Akron
32
49
14
11
106
Ball State
29
52
14
16
111
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Three 20-Point Scorers Lead Men's Hoops Past Akron in Marathon Game
January 27, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Cardinals outlast Akron in double overtime for first victory over Zips since 2004
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State men's basketball team duked it out for 50 minutes Saturday against Akron. When the last horn finally sounded after two overtimes, the Cardinals were on top 111-106 in the highest scoring game in Worthen Arena history.
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Three Ball State players set career highs for scoring, led by Tahjai Teague with 26 points. Trey Moses' 20 and Kyle Mallers' 18 were also career bests. Tayler Persons matched Teague for team-high honors with 26, giving BSU three 20-point scorers in a game for the first time in 13 years.
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The Cardinals withstood an arena-record 48 points from Akron's Jimond Ivey to win a game that featured 17 ties and 12 lead changes.
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Ball State improved to 13-8 (4-4 MAC), defeating Akron for the first time since 2004. The Zips, who had won three of their past four games, dropped to 10-10 (3-5 MAC).
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Ball State Head Coach James Whitford
"I thought it was a great win. I was proud of our guys. We really competed for 50 minutes of basketball. We got off to a rough start. It was a mentally challenging game for us. We turned the ball over I think nine times in the first 10 minutes of the game, and then we turned it over nine times in the next 40 minutes. They were really pressuring a denying some stuff, and I think that really affected us. Eventually we broke their back inside. We consistently got the ball in the box and we drew a ton of fouls. Trey and Tahjai went 14 of 25 from the field, and I thought that was a big part of the game."
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Inside the Numbers
• Teague surpassed his previous career-high of 19 points set in last year's MAC Tournament semifinal, also against Akron. The sophomore added 12 rebounds and six assists to lead the Cardinals in both categories. It was his third double-double of the year.
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• Mallers scored all 18 of his points after halftime. The sophomore missed his only two shots of the first half but was nearly perfect the rest of the way, going 5 for 5 from the field, 3 for 3 from 3-point range and 5 for 6 from the foul line after halftime.
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• Similarly, Moses scored 20 of his 22 points after the break. He was 4 for 5 from the floor and 12 for 14 from the stripe after halftime, on the way to his sixth double-double of the year (11 rebounds). Moses and Mallers combined to make 9 of 10 field goal attempts and 17 of 20 free throws in the second half and overtime.
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• As a team, Ball State set season highs for free throws made (33) and attempted (42). The Cardinals registered their second-best 3-point percentage of the year at 55.6 percent (10 for 18), with Persons, Mallers and Sean Sellers each hitting three.
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• Ivey also set the Worthen Arena record with nine 3-pointers, finishing 9 for 12 from beyond the arc. His 48 points broke the arena record of 41 previously shared by Bonzi Wells (1996) and Eastern Michigan's Earl Boykins (1998). On the other end of the spectrum, the Cardinals held Akron's Daniel Utomi to 1 for 14 from deep.
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How it Happened
• Ball State faced its biggest deficit of the day at 63-55 with 6:58 to play before going on a 10-0 run that swung the momentum. Two free throws from Moses were followed by a Persons 3-pointer and a Moses block that led to a runout dunk for the big man. When Mallers followed with a 3 at the 4:49 mark, the Cardinals took a 65-63 lead.
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• Ball State eventually took a five-point lead on a 3-point play from Persons, but Akron stormed back with an 8-1 run to grab an 81-79 advantage on a 3-point play from Utomi. Persons was fouled on BSU's final possession of regulation and hit two free throws to force overtime.
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• The Cardinals led by three twice in the final minute of the first extra period, including a 95-92 advantage with 3.7 seconds left after a pair of Mallers free throws. But Ivey managed to get a contested look from 25 feet at the buzzer and drained it to extend the game again.
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• Ball State used a 6-0 run in the second overtime to build a 107-101 lead on a Teague dunk with 1:16 to play. Ivey scored five straight to pull the Zips within one, but a layup from Ishmael El-Amin followed by a steal and lay-in from Moses capped the win for the Cardinals.
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• After not going to overtime in any of the first 19 games this season, Ball State has now played back-to-back OT games. The Cardinals lost 88-80 in overtime four days earlier at Kent State.
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Up Next
• Ball State will travel to MAC West Division leader Toledo for a 7 p.m. tip Tuesday. The Cardinals will play two straight on the road before returning to Worthen Arena to host Bowling Green on Feb. 6.
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Three Ball State players set career highs for scoring, led by Tahjai Teague with 26 points. Trey Moses' 20 and Kyle Mallers' 18 were also career bests. Tayler Persons matched Teague for team-high honors with 26, giving BSU three 20-point scorers in a game for the first time in 13 years.
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The Cardinals withstood an arena-record 48 points from Akron's Jimond Ivey to win a game that featured 17 ties and 12 lead changes.
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Ball State improved to 13-8 (4-4 MAC), defeating Akron for the first time since 2004. The Zips, who had won three of their past four games, dropped to 10-10 (3-5 MAC).
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Ball State Head Coach James Whitford
"I thought it was a great win. I was proud of our guys. We really competed for 50 minutes of basketball. We got off to a rough start. It was a mentally challenging game for us. We turned the ball over I think nine times in the first 10 minutes of the game, and then we turned it over nine times in the next 40 minutes. They were really pressuring a denying some stuff, and I think that really affected us. Eventually we broke their back inside. We consistently got the ball in the box and we drew a ton of fouls. Trey and Tahjai went 14 of 25 from the field, and I thought that was a big part of the game."
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Inside the Numbers
• Teague surpassed his previous career-high of 19 points set in last year's MAC Tournament semifinal, also against Akron. The sophomore added 12 rebounds and six assists to lead the Cardinals in both categories. It was his third double-double of the year.
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• Mallers scored all 18 of his points after halftime. The sophomore missed his only two shots of the first half but was nearly perfect the rest of the way, going 5 for 5 from the field, 3 for 3 from 3-point range and 5 for 6 from the foul line after halftime.
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• Similarly, Moses scored 20 of his 22 points after the break. He was 4 for 5 from the floor and 12 for 14 from the stripe after halftime, on the way to his sixth double-double of the year (11 rebounds). Moses and Mallers combined to make 9 of 10 field goal attempts and 17 of 20 free throws in the second half and overtime.
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• As a team, Ball State set season highs for free throws made (33) and attempted (42). The Cardinals registered their second-best 3-point percentage of the year at 55.6 percent (10 for 18), with Persons, Mallers and Sean Sellers each hitting three.
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• Ivey also set the Worthen Arena record with nine 3-pointers, finishing 9 for 12 from beyond the arc. His 48 points broke the arena record of 41 previously shared by Bonzi Wells (1996) and Eastern Michigan's Earl Boykins (1998). On the other end of the spectrum, the Cardinals held Akron's Daniel Utomi to 1 for 14 from deep.
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How it Happened
• Ball State faced its biggest deficit of the day at 63-55 with 6:58 to play before going on a 10-0 run that swung the momentum. Two free throws from Moses were followed by a Persons 3-pointer and a Moses block that led to a runout dunk for the big man. When Mallers followed with a 3 at the 4:49 mark, the Cardinals took a 65-63 lead.
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• Ball State eventually took a five-point lead on a 3-point play from Persons, but Akron stormed back with an 8-1 run to grab an 81-79 advantage on a 3-point play from Utomi. Persons was fouled on BSU's final possession of regulation and hit two free throws to force overtime.
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• The Cardinals led by three twice in the final minute of the first extra period, including a 95-92 advantage with 3.7 seconds left after a pair of Mallers free throws. But Ivey managed to get a contested look from 25 feet at the buzzer and drained it to extend the game again.
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• Ball State used a 6-0 run in the second overtime to build a 107-101 lead on a Teague dunk with 1:16 to play. Ivey scored five straight to pull the Zips within one, but a layup from Ishmael El-Amin followed by a steal and lay-in from Moses capped the win for the Cardinals.
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• After not going to overtime in any of the first 19 games this season, Ball State has now played back-to-back OT games. The Cardinals lost 88-80 in overtime four days earlier at Kent State.
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Up Next
• Ball State will travel to MAC West Division leader Toledo for a 7 p.m. tip Tuesday. The Cardinals will play two straight on the road before returning to Worthen Arena to host Bowling Green on Feb. 6.
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Team Stats
AKRON
BSU
FG%
.468
.500
3FG%
.341
.556
FT%
.905
.786
RB
40
42
TO
18
18
STL
12
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
22
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
12
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
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