Saturday, December 1
Indianapolis, Ind.
1:00 PM ET
Ball State University
5-3
85
at
75
IUPUI
5-3
1
2
F
Ball St.
44
41
85
IUPUI
40
35
75
Photo by: Tim Cowie Photography
Cardinals Win Key Early Road Matchup at IUPUI, 85-75
December 01, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Ball State runs winning streak to four behind 19 points from Tahjai Teague
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Ball State men's basketball team withstood an early shooting barrage from IUPUI, a season-high 23 turnovers and numerous second-half spurts from the Jaguars to extend its winning streak to four.
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Fastbreak dunks from Zach Gunn and Tahjai Teague, along with a pair of big buckets from Kyle Mallers down the stretch, helped the Cardinals (5-3) pull away for an in-state road win, 85-75, at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
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Teague's 19 points and nine rebounds and Tayler Persons' 16 points, nine boards and five assists led the Cardinals against an IUPUI squad that also entered the day on a three-game win streak. The Jaguars (5-3) had quality wins over Boston College and Bradley.
"IUPUI has been playing really well," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "They have good players, a great coach and a really good program. We knew this was going to be as hard a game as we've had to play, so it was obviously a big win for us."
Ball State didn't blink in the face of IUPUI leading scorer Camron Justice blistering the nets in the opening 20 minutes. The junior guard, averaging 20 points per game, hit his first eight shots from the floor, including three from 3-point range, on the way to a 19-point first half.
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IUPUI was shooting 70 percent as a team until the four-minute mark of the first half, yet Ball State weathered the storm to take a 44-40 lead into the half. The Cardinals did it by finding success in transition, creating open looks from the perimeter with good ball movement and finding openings at the rim via nice passing from their bigs.
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IUPUI cooled off big time in the second half, making just two of its first 15 shots after the break. The Cardinals built their lead to as many as eight points, but the Jaguars wouldn't go away. Two big 3-pointers from Jaylen Minnett helped keep the game close.
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Then minutes after Gunn collected a loose ball, hurdled a defender and threw down a slam, Teague intercepted a pass and took it all the way to push the lead to 72-63.
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Mallers did some dirty work, grabbing an offensive rebound off a free throw miss and putting it in. Several possessions later, he knocked down a left wing 3 to push the Cardinals' lead to double digits for the first time and put the win on ice.
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Gunn reached double figures for the second straight game with 11 points, while Mallers and K.J. Walton both finished with 10. Brachen Hazen had eight points on 3-for-3 shooting, including a pair of triples.
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After his 8-for-8 start, Justice missed his next six shots. He went on to finish 11-for-20 from the floor to lead all scorers with 28 points.
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Ball State's win improved the Cardinals to 7-1 against in-state opponents over the past two seasons and gave them their third victory in four years over IUPUI.Â
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Saturday's game was the first of four straight on the road for Ball State, which now travels to play Wednesday at 2018 national semifinalist Loyola Chicago. The game will tip at 8 p.m. CT (9 ET) on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Fastbreak dunks from Zach Gunn and Tahjai Teague, along with a pair of big buckets from Kyle Mallers down the stretch, helped the Cardinals (5-3) pull away for an in-state road win, 85-75, at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
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Teague's 19 points and nine rebounds and Tayler Persons' 16 points, nine boards and five assists led the Cardinals against an IUPUI squad that also entered the day on a three-game win streak. The Jaguars (5-3) had quality wins over Boston College and Bradley.
"IUPUI has been playing really well," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "They have good players, a great coach and a really good program. We knew this was going to be as hard a game as we've had to play, so it was obviously a big win for us."
Ball State didn't blink in the face of IUPUI leading scorer Camron Justice blistering the nets in the opening 20 minutes. The junior guard, averaging 20 points per game, hit his first eight shots from the floor, including three from 3-point range, on the way to a 19-point first half.
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IUPUI was shooting 70 percent as a team until the four-minute mark of the first half, yet Ball State weathered the storm to take a 44-40 lead into the half. The Cardinals did it by finding success in transition, creating open looks from the perimeter with good ball movement and finding openings at the rim via nice passing from their bigs.
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ÂDon't hurt him Tahjai!!! ??????#ChirpChirp | #BSUvsIUPUI pic.twitter.com/UtRLeLWQTb
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 1, 2018
IUPUI cooled off big time in the second half, making just two of its first 15 shots after the break. The Cardinals built their lead to as many as eight points, but the Jaguars wouldn't go away. Two big 3-pointers from Jaylen Minnett helped keep the game close.
Â
Then minutes after Gunn collected a loose ball, hurdled a defender and threw down a slam, Teague intercepted a pass and took it all the way to push the lead to 72-63.
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Mallers did some dirty work, grabbing an offensive rebound off a free throw miss and putting it in. Several possessions later, he knocked down a left wing 3 to push the Cardinals' lead to double digits for the first time and put the win on ice.
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ÂBSU 67, IUPUI 63 (7:07 2nd)
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 1, 2018
??Hurdle Alert?? Zach Gunn gets ?? #ChirpChirp | #BSUvsIUPUI pic.twitter.com/080AcF65lB
Gunn reached double figures for the second straight game with 11 points, while Mallers and K.J. Walton both finished with 10. Brachen Hazen had eight points on 3-for-3 shooting, including a pair of triples.
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After his 8-for-8 start, Justice missed his next six shots. He went on to finish 11-for-20 from the floor to lead all scorers with 28 points.
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Ball State's win improved the Cardinals to 7-1 against in-state opponents over the past two seasons and gave them their third victory in four years over IUPUI.Â
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Saturday's game was the first of four straight on the road for Ball State, which now travels to play Wednesday at 2018 national semifinalist Loyola Chicago. The game will tip at 8 p.m. CT (9 ET) on NBC Sports Chicago.
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ÂIt's always good to beat an in-state opponent. Here's more from @coachjwhit... pic.twitter.com/fa5dRKLG2g
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 1, 2018
ÂMoving on, playing Final Four team Loyola on Wednesday. "It's going to be a great atmosphere." pic.twitter.com/zk5dXi0rh4
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 1, 2018
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Team Stats
BSU
IUPUI
FG%
.560
.453
3FG%
.444
.368
FT%
.700
.588
RB
38
27
TO
23
16
STL
7
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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