Men’s Hoops to Close Charleston Classic Sunday with Appalachian State

Game 5
Ball State (1-3) vs. Appalachian State (1-3)
Charleston Classic
Sunday, Nov. 18 (11 a.m.)
Charleston, S.C. (TD Arena)
Watch: ESPN3 | Listen: 96.7/104.9 | Live Stats

Setting the Stage
• Ball State closes out the Charleston Classic with a consolation game against Appalachian State. The Cardinals are coming off three straight losses, all to teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last season and are either ranked or receiving votes this year, including games with Virginia Tech and Alabama in Charleston.

• Like the Cardinals, Appalachian State has lost three straight to 2018 NCAA Tourney Teams with defeats to Alabama, Purdue and Wichita State. The Mountaineers led a tight game in the final five minutes Friday against Wichita State before coming up on the short end, 82-76.

What's Trending
• Ball State's schedule strength of schedule so far ranks 36th among the 351 NCAA Division I teams according to Ken Pomeroy. The Cardinals have already played three NCAA Tournament teams from last year and will play one more with a Dec. 5 trip to 2018 Final Four team Loyola-Chicago.

• On Sunday, Ball State will face the challenge of defending Appalachian State's Justin Forrest, who is averaging 19.8 points per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 61 percent from 3-point range. Ronshad Shabazz adds 14.8 points per game for the Mountaineers.

• The only previous meeting between Ball State and Appalachian State also came on a neutral floor in the 1979 Pacemaker Classic in Monroe, Louisiana. Steve Yoder's Cardinals defeated Bobby Cremins' Mountaineers, 74-68. The Ball State roster that year featured a freshman Ray McCallum.

• Ball State features four players averaging double-figure scoring -- Tayler Persons (16.5), K.J. Walton (11.8), Tahjai Teague (10.5) and Kyle Mallers (10.3).

• Ball State's first-half versus second-half numbers were vastly different against Alabama. The Cardinals shot 28 percent from the floor and 0-for-7 from 3-point range with two assists and 11 turnovers while falling behind by 13 points. In the second half, BSU shot 62.5 percent, made 3-of-5 from deep and had nine assists to four turnovers.

• Senior center Trey Moses put together his best half of the season with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the second half of Friday's loss to Alabama. Moses was off to a slow start as he returned from preseason knee surgery, but he averaged 11.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season as an All-MAC Third Team selection.

Men’s Hoops to Close Charleston Classic Sunday with Appalachian State

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Players Mentioned

Kyle Mallers

Trey Moses

Tayler Persons

Tahjai Teague

K.J. Walton