Thursday, November 15
Charleston, S.C.
11:30 AM ET
Ball State University
1-2
64
vs
73
Virginia Tech
2-0
1
2
F
Ball State
29
35
64
Virginia Tech
43
30
73
Photo by: Tim Cowie Photography
No. 16/17 Virginia Tech Answers Cardinals Runs in Charleston Opener
November 15, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Ball State will play again Friday at 1:30 p.m. against Alabama on ESPNU
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Ball State led by five in the first half and was within five in the second half, but No. 16/17 Virginia Tech had an answer for every BSU run in a 73-64 win in game one of the Charleston Classic.
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Tayler Persons had 21 points and five assists, while Kyle Mallers added a career-high 19 behind a career-best five 3-pointers. That duo combined for 63 percent of the Cardinals' offensive production in their first game at TD Arena.
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Ball State, which suffered a second straight loss to a top-25 opponent, falls into the consolation bracket to meet Alabama, which lost its opening game to Northeastern. That game will tip Friday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
"I thought there were moments of the game where we played really well," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "If I'm disappointed, it's that we let three-point runs become 10-point runs. There were moments where we let the game get away from us, but we competed and played hard."
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Ball State (1-2) Â built took a five-point lead on Persons' pull-up 3-pointer and had the momentum midway through the first half. But the Cardinals went cold the rest of the way as Virginia Tech outscored them 26-7. Justin Robinson's long 3 at the halftime buzzer sent the Hokies to the locker room up 43-29.
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A 10-0 run keyed by a pair of Mallers 3's early in the second half cut the lead to 45-39, but Virginia Tech (2-0) quickly stretched it back to 10. The Cardinals then scored five straight and cut it to 49-44 on a bucket at the rim from K.J. Walton with 12:32 to play. But the Hokies answered again to push the lead back to double digits and eventually stretch it to as many as 17.
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It took a while for Ball State to settle in against Virginia Tech's unique collapsing, trapping defense. But once they did, they were able to get good looks from the perimeter. Just not enough of those looks fell. The Cardinals were 9-of-27 from beyond the arc, with Mallers going 5-for-12 to lead the way.
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 "We played Oklahoma and Oregon last year, and they were so athletic that we were overwhelmed and we didn't really have a chance to compete," Whitford said. "We had 20, 25 minutes of the game today where we hung in there punch for punch just fine. It was the moments where we got frustrated, and I thought the mental side of the game hurt us a lot more today than the physical."
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It wasn't always easy, but Ball State managed to take pretty good care of the ball against a Hokie squad that turned Gardner-Webb over 29 times in its opener. The Cardinals had 14 turnovers.
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Virginia Tech shot 46 percent from the floor and 59 percent inside the arc on the way to out-scoring BSU 42-22 in the paint. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hokies with 21 points, followed by Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 18 and Justin Robinson with 15.
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Tayler Persons had 21 points and five assists, while Kyle Mallers added a career-high 19 behind a career-best five 3-pointers. That duo combined for 63 percent of the Cardinals' offensive production in their first game at TD Arena.
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Ball State, which suffered a second straight loss to a top-25 opponent, falls into the consolation bracket to meet Alabama, which lost its opening game to Northeastern. That game will tip Friday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
"I thought there were moments of the game where we played really well," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "If I'm disappointed, it's that we let three-point runs become 10-point runs. There were moments where we let the game get away from us, but we competed and played hard."
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Ball State (1-2) Â built took a five-point lead on Persons' pull-up 3-pointer and had the momentum midway through the first half. But the Cardinals went cold the rest of the way as Virginia Tech outscored them 26-7. Justin Robinson's long 3 at the halftime buzzer sent the Hokies to the locker room up 43-29.
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Tayler Persons feeling it right now, and the Cardinals are back in the lead ... pic.twitter.com/RRo5N0HJMQ
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 15, 2018
A 10-0 run keyed by a pair of Mallers 3's early in the second half cut the lead to 45-39, but Virginia Tech (2-0) quickly stretched it back to 10. The Cardinals then scored five straight and cut it to 49-44 on a bucket at the rim from K.J. Walton with 12:32 to play. But the Hokies answered again to push the lead back to double digits and eventually stretch it to as many as 17.
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It took a while for Ball State to settle in against Virginia Tech's unique collapsing, trapping defense. But once they did, they were able to get good looks from the perimeter. Just not enough of those looks fell. The Cardinals were 9-of-27 from beyond the arc, with Mallers going 5-for-12 to lead the way.
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ÂThe one more! Kyle Mallers drains the second of back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Cardinals within 8 at 45-37 and force a Virginia Tech timeout.
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 15, 2018
Here we go!#ChirpChirp pic.twitter.com/sAO8kVQTTQ
 "We played Oklahoma and Oregon last year, and they were so athletic that we were overwhelmed and we didn't really have a chance to compete," Whitford said. "We had 20, 25 minutes of the game today where we hung in there punch for punch just fine. It was the moments where we got frustrated, and I thought the mental side of the game hurt us a lot more today than the physical."
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It wasn't always easy, but Ball State managed to take pretty good care of the ball against a Hokie squad that turned Gardner-Webb over 29 times in its opener. The Cardinals had 14 turnovers.
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Virginia Tech shot 46 percent from the floor and 59 percent inside the arc on the way to out-scoring BSU 42-22 in the paint. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hokies with 21 points, followed by Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 18 and Justin Robinson with 15.
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Â"There were enough plays out there where you look at it and say, we're not that far off."
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 15, 2018
Coach Whitford talks about his team not being overwhelmed by the athleticism of No. 16 Virginia Tech. pic.twitter.com/IDERfLSHHb
Â.@kmallers14 scored a career-high 19 points and hit a career-best five 3-pointers in today's loss to No. 16 Virginia Tech.
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 15, 2018
He discusses the way BSU's offense was able to generate open looks from the outside. pic.twitter.com/2JOz0CtQrG
Team Stats
BSU
VT
FG%
.423
.460
3FG%
.333
.269
FT%
.786
.889
RB
32
33
TO
14
9
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
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