Saturday, November 24
Muncie, Ind.
2:00 PM ET
Ball State University
82
vs
72
Evansville
1
2
F
Evansville
26
46
72
Ball St.
37
45
82
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Cardinals Give Home Crowd Plenty to Cheer About in 82-72 Win Over Evansville
November 24, 2018 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State men's basketball team received quality contributions from several players while cruising to an 82-72 victory over Evansville Saturday afternoon in Worthen Arena.
K.J. Walton led all players with 20 points, which was two shy of his career high that he tallied in the previous game against Appalachian State. Kyle Mallers chipped in with 17 second-half points while Tahjai Teague added 17 points and eight rebounds. Point guard Tayler Persons finished with nine points and a season-best nine assists.
"'[Walton] was very good today," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "When our defense is good, he's going to be effective because no one thrives off of our transition more than him. I thought both this game and [the Appalachian State] game, he was terrific."
Walton carried the Cardinals (3-3) in the first half. The guard was all over the court in the opening 20 minutes with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor (88.9 percent), four rebounds, two steals and a block.
Evansville (2-3) led early, 16-13, before Ball State went on a 14-0 run to take the lead for good. Walton capped the spurt with a steal and breakaway layup.
The Cardinals went up by as many as 13 in the first half, 31-18, before taking a 37-26 lead into the locker rooms.
Ball State was never seriously threatened in the second half. The Cardinals extended their lead to 18 points midway through the second half, 55-37, following a Mallers 3-pointer from the left wing. Another Mallers trifecta pushed the Ball State lead to a game-high 22 points, 76-54, with 5:38 left.
Evansville's Shea Feehan paced the Purple Aces with 19 points and four 3-pointers.
This was the first meeting between the two teams in 10 years and just the third time in the past 40. Thee two teams will meet again in 15 days in Evansville on Dec. 9.
The Cardinals are right back in action Tuesday night, Nov. 27, with a home game against Tiffin. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m.
K.J. Walton led all players with 20 points, which was two shy of his career high that he tallied in the previous game against Appalachian State. Kyle Mallers chipped in with 17 second-half points while Tahjai Teague added 17 points and eight rebounds. Point guard Tayler Persons finished with nine points and a season-best nine assists.
"'[Walton] was very good today," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "When our defense is good, he's going to be effective because no one thrives off of our transition more than him. I thought both this game and [the Appalachian State] game, he was terrific."
Walton carried the Cardinals (3-3) in the first half. The guard was all over the court in the opening 20 minutes with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor (88.9 percent), four rebounds, two steals and a block.
Evansville (2-3) led early, 16-13, before Ball State went on a 14-0 run to take the lead for good. Walton capped the spurt with a steal and breakaway layup.
The Cardinals went up by as many as 13 in the first half, 31-18, before taking a 37-26 lead into the locker rooms.
Teague ?? Walton ?? Persons ?? #ChirpChirp | #WeFly pic.twitter.com/5so8bVin0k
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 24, 2018
Ball State was never seriously threatened in the second half. The Cardinals extended their lead to 18 points midway through the second half, 55-37, following a Mallers 3-pointer from the left wing. Another Mallers trifecta pushed the Ball State lead to a game-high 22 points, 76-54, with 5:38 left.
Evansville's Shea Feehan paced the Purple Aces with 19 points and four 3-pointers.
This was the first meeting between the two teams in 10 years and just the third time in the past 40. Thee two teams will meet again in 15 days in Evansville on Dec. 9.
The Cardinals are right back in action Tuesday night, Nov. 27, with a home game against Tiffin. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m.
Coach Whitford breaks down his team's defensive effort through most of today's game any the ball movement that led to the Cardinals' offensive performance. pic.twitter.com/v55OrdUtbu
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 24, 2018
Team Stats
M-219
M-47
FG%
.491
.476
3FG%
.471
.400
FT%
.600
.583
RB
30
42
TO
11
11
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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