Tuesday, February 27
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7:00 PM ET
Ball State University
19-11, 10-7MAC
51
at
75
Central Michigan
17-13, 6-11MAC
1
2
F
Ball State
30
21
51
Central Michigan
33
42
75
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Ball State Men’s Hoops Suffers Setback at Central Michigan
February 27, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Chippewas pull away in second half to even season series
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- A good 3-point shooting performance from Central Michigan and an inability to take care of the basketball doomed Ball State in a 75-51 loss Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena.
The Cardinals turned the ball over 16 times and saw the Chippewas toss in 12 of 28 from 3-point range on the night.
Ball State fell to 19-11 (10-7 MAC) and now shares the No. 3 spot in the overall MAC standings with Eastern Michigan with one game remaining. Central Michigan improved to 17-13 (6-11 MAC) and evened the season series with BSU.
The Cardinals can still secure a bye in the upcoming MAC Tournament by winning Friday's regular season finale at Northern Illinois.
Head Coach James Whitford:
"I thought we really got discouraged as the game went on. The game was hard for us, which was a credit to Central Michigan. It was a frustrating game, and our ability to handle that frustration was poor. They shot the ball well; we did not shoot the ball well. When things got tough for us, we went south, and that was the disappointing part."
By the Numbers
• Tahjai Teague led the Cardinals with 10 points and seven rebounds. It was his seventh straight double-figure game and his 10th in the past 11 contests.
• The Cardinals, who rank third in the MAC at nearly 15 assists per game in conference play, managed a season-low five helpers Tuesday.
• Ball State, which shot 50 percent in this season's first meeting with CMU en route to an 82-76 victory in Muncie, managed just 36.5 percent Tuesday and hit just 9 of 29 after halftime.
• Kevin McKay led four double-figure scorers for Central Michigan with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Cecil Williams had 18.
How it Happened
• Ball State trailed by three at the half despite shooting 43.5 percent to Central Michigan's 31.4 percent. Much of that had to do with nine first-half turnovers.
• Central Michigan came out of the gates hot, making its first four shots of the game, all from 3-point range. The Chippewas cooled off, making just three of their next 18 shots, but managed to hold onto the lead because of Ball State's turnover trouble.
• The Cardinals cut the CMU lead to 29-28 after back-to-back 3-pointers from freshmen Zach Gunn and Ishmael El-Amin before heading into the locker room trailing 33-30.
• Central Michigan then scored the first eight points of the second half to open up a double-figure lead. The Chippewas eventually expanded the lead to as many as 26.
• CMU shot 53.8 percent in the second half and outscored the Cardinals 42-21 after the break.
Up Next
• Ball State will close out the regular season Friday with a 7 p.m. CT (8 ET) tipoff at Northern Illinois. The Cardinals defeated the Huskies, 77-68, just three games ago in Muncie.
The Cardinals turned the ball over 16 times and saw the Chippewas toss in 12 of 28 from 3-point range on the night.
Ball State fell to 19-11 (10-7 MAC) and now shares the No. 3 spot in the overall MAC standings with Eastern Michigan with one game remaining. Central Michigan improved to 17-13 (6-11 MAC) and evened the season series with BSU.
The Cardinals can still secure a bye in the upcoming MAC Tournament by winning Friday's regular season finale at Northern Illinois.
Head Coach James Whitford:
"I thought we really got discouraged as the game went on. The game was hard for us, which was a credit to Central Michigan. It was a frustrating game, and our ability to handle that frustration was poor. They shot the ball well; we did not shoot the ball well. When things got tough for us, we went south, and that was the disappointing part."
By the Numbers
• Tahjai Teague led the Cardinals with 10 points and seven rebounds. It was his seventh straight double-figure game and his 10th in the past 11 contests.
• The Cardinals, who rank third in the MAC at nearly 15 assists per game in conference play, managed a season-low five helpers Tuesday.
• Ball State, which shot 50 percent in this season's first meeting with CMU en route to an 82-76 victory in Muncie, managed just 36.5 percent Tuesday and hit just 9 of 29 after halftime.
• Kevin McKay led four double-figure scorers for Central Michigan with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Cecil Williams had 18.
How it Happened
• Ball State trailed by three at the half despite shooting 43.5 percent to Central Michigan's 31.4 percent. Much of that had to do with nine first-half turnovers.
• Central Michigan came out of the gates hot, making its first four shots of the game, all from 3-point range. The Chippewas cooled off, making just three of their next 18 shots, but managed to hold onto the lead because of Ball State's turnover trouble.
• The Cardinals cut the CMU lead to 29-28 after back-to-back 3-pointers from freshmen Zach Gunn and Ishmael El-Amin before heading into the locker room trailing 33-30.
• Central Michigan then scored the first eight points of the second half to open up a double-figure lead. The Chippewas eventually expanded the lead to as many as 26.
• CMU shot 53.8 percent in the second half and outscored the Cardinals 42-21 after the break.
Up Next
• Ball State will close out the regular season Friday with a 7 p.m. CT (8 ET) tipoff at Northern Illinois. The Cardinals defeated the Huskies, 77-68, just three games ago in Muncie.
Team Stats
BSU
CMU
FG%
.365
.410
3FG%
.250
.429
FT%
.533
.867
RB
40
33
TO
16
6
STL
1
11
Game Leaders
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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