Saturday, February 17
Muncie, Ind.
2:00 PM ET
Ball State University
18-9, 9-5MAC
99
vs
71
Toledo
19-8, 11-3MAC
1
2
F
Toledo
34
37
71
Ball State
51
48
99
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Men's Hoops Throttles Toledo for Second Win Over MAC West Leader
February 17, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Cardinals improve to 9-5 in MAC play with sixth win in past seven games
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Toledo men's basketball team has only three losses through 14 Mid-American Conference games. After Ball State's thorough performance Saturday at Worthen Arena, the Cardinals now responsible for two of those.
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Ball State posted another wire-to-wire victory over the Rockets, this one a 99-71 throttling inside Worthen Arena. BSU was a 75-63 winner three weeks ago in the first meeting in Toledo.
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The Cardinals (18-9, 9-5 MAC) won for the sixth time in the past seven games behind career-high scoring performances from freshmen Ishmael El-Amin (18 points) and Zach Gunn (16).
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Toledo (19-8, 11-3 MAC), which entered the weekend with a share of the overall MAC lead, lost for the first time since that earlier game against Ball State.
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Ball State Head Coach James Whitford:
"I just thought it was a complete game for us. It was obviously a great win against a really good basketball team. There were so many different contributions, which was fun. Ishmael El-Amin, Zach Gunn … Kyle Mallers defensively for the second time (against Toledo) was excellent. I thought Sean Sellers really helped us defensively. It was a great team win.
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"The story of us playing better is being able to adapt to the strengths of our team and become more physical. Our guys are starting to believe it. They're developing a sense of confidence that we can beat you that way, and that's really critical for us."
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Inside the Numbers
• Saturday was the best statistical game this season for El-Amin, a freshman guard from Minneapolis. He scored his 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting and also set or matched his career bests for rebounds (seven) and assists (four). Perhaps most impressively, he didn't turn the ball over once in 28 minutes.
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• Gunn, known as a sharpshooter coming out of Hamilton Southeastern High School, had struggled since late November as he battled through a foot injury and a shooting slump. Saturday, he found his stroke again. Gunn drilled 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, including some from NBA range. He also had a career-high four assists.
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• Tahjai Teague recorded his third straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The sophomore forward has five double-doubles in MAC play and seven for the season. Over the past three games, he is averaging 19 points and 12 boards per game.
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• Tayler Persons matched El-Amin for game-high honors with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He, too, had four assists and committed just one turnover. As a team, Ball State's six turnovers were a season best.
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• The Cardinals surpassed the 50 percent shooting mark for the third straight game, finishing at 50.8 percent from the floor.
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• Toledo has been one of the top shooting teams in the MAC all year long, but Ball State has held the Rockets below 40 percent twice now. UT finished Saturday at 39 percent.
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• The Cardinals attempted 36 free throws, their second-highest total of the season, and made 28 of them. The only time BSU attempted more was in the double-overtime win over Akron (42).
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• Freshman walk-on guard Tyler Leedy made an appearance in the final minutes and scored his first collegiate points on a baseline drive. The Zionsville product also logged an assist.
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How It Happened
• Ball State scored the first 10 points of the game and never looked back.
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• A 3-pointer from Toledo's Luke Knapke cut the lead to 16-12 near the midway point of the first half, but that was as close as the Rockets would get all day.
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• El-Amin and Teague scored 10 points each in the first half as the Cardinals opened up a 21-point lead and eventually took a 51-34 advantage into the break.
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• The second half was all Cardinals, too. Gunn scored 10 of his points after halftime to help BSU outscore the Rockets 48-37 over the final 20 minutes.
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Up Next
• Ball State will host its last two regular season home games over the next six days, starting Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff against Northern Illinois.
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• The Cardinals will then welcome Western Michigan for a 9 p.m. tipoff Friday in the annual #MuncieOut game in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN2.
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Ball State posted another wire-to-wire victory over the Rockets, this one a 99-71 throttling inside Worthen Arena. BSU was a 75-63 winner three weeks ago in the first meeting in Toledo.
Â
The Cardinals (18-9, 9-5 MAC) won for the sixth time in the past seven games behind career-high scoring performances from freshmen Ishmael El-Amin (18 points) and Zach Gunn (16).
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Toledo (19-8, 11-3 MAC), which entered the weekend with a share of the overall MAC lead, lost for the first time since that earlier game against Ball State.
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Ball State Head Coach James Whitford:
"I just thought it was a complete game for us. It was obviously a great win against a really good basketball team. There were so many different contributions, which was fun. Ishmael El-Amin, Zach Gunn … Kyle Mallers defensively for the second time (against Toledo) was excellent. I thought Sean Sellers really helped us defensively. It was a great team win.
Â
"The story of us playing better is being able to adapt to the strengths of our team and become more physical. Our guys are starting to believe it. They're developing a sense of confidence that we can beat you that way, and that's really critical for us."
Â
Inside the Numbers
• Saturday was the best statistical game this season for El-Amin, a freshman guard from Minneapolis. He scored his 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting and also set or matched his career bests for rebounds (seven) and assists (four). Perhaps most impressively, he didn't turn the ball over once in 28 minutes.
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• Gunn, known as a sharpshooter coming out of Hamilton Southeastern High School, had struggled since late November as he battled through a foot injury and a shooting slump. Saturday, he found his stroke again. Gunn drilled 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, including some from NBA range. He also had a career-high four assists.
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• Tahjai Teague recorded his third straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The sophomore forward has five double-doubles in MAC play and seven for the season. Over the past three games, he is averaging 19 points and 12 boards per game.
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• Tayler Persons matched El-Amin for game-high honors with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He, too, had four assists and committed just one turnover. As a team, Ball State's six turnovers were a season best.
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• The Cardinals surpassed the 50 percent shooting mark for the third straight game, finishing at 50.8 percent from the floor.
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• Toledo has been one of the top shooting teams in the MAC all year long, but Ball State has held the Rockets below 40 percent twice now. UT finished Saturday at 39 percent.
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• The Cardinals attempted 36 free throws, their second-highest total of the season, and made 28 of them. The only time BSU attempted more was in the double-overtime win over Akron (42).
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• Freshman walk-on guard Tyler Leedy made an appearance in the final minutes and scored his first collegiate points on a baseline drive. The Zionsville product also logged an assist.
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How It Happened
• Ball State scored the first 10 points of the game and never looked back.
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• A 3-pointer from Toledo's Luke Knapke cut the lead to 16-12 near the midway point of the first half, but that was as close as the Rockets would get all day.
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• El-Amin and Teague scored 10 points each in the first half as the Cardinals opened up a 21-point lead and eventually took a 51-34 advantage into the break.
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• The second half was all Cardinals, too. Gunn scored 10 of his points after halftime to help BSU outscore the Rockets 48-37 over the final 20 minutes.
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Up Next
• Ball State will host its last two regular season home games over the next six days, starting Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff against Northern Illinois.
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• The Cardinals will then welcome Western Michigan for a 9 p.m. tipoff Friday in the annual #MuncieOut game in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN2.
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Team Stats
TOLEDO
BSU
FG%
.390
.508
3FG%
.368
.474
FT%
.818
.778
RB
35
39
TO
14
6
STL
0
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
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