Friday, March 2
DeKalb, Ill.
7:00 PM CT (8:00 PM ET)
Ball State University
19-12 (10-8MAC)
65
at
66
Northern Illinois
13-18 (6-12MAC)
1
2
F
Ball State
29
36
65
Northern Illinois
37
29
66
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Men's Hoops Falls in Final Minute at Northern Illinois
March 02, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Cardinals' MAC Tournament seed will be determined Saturday
DEKALB, Ill. -- The Ball State men's basketball team overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to lead most of the second half Friday, but Northern Illinois guard Eugene German hit a jumper with 16 seconds left to lift the Huskies to a 66-65 victory.
Tayler Persons scored 23 points to lead the Cardinals, but Northern Illinois came back from a six-point deficit in the final 90 seconds by scoring the last seven points of the game. Persons' contested look from the 3-point line came up short in the closing seconds, and a tip attempt was off the mark as time expired.
Ball State dropped to 19-12 (10-8 MAC), while Northern Illinois improved to 13-18 (6-12 MAC) to close the regular season.
The Cardinals' MAC Tournament seed now rests with the Western Michigan-Central Michigan game, which was postponed until Saturday. If Central Michigan wins, Ball State will claim the No. 4 seed and the final first-round bye. If Western Michigan wins, the Cardinals will be the No. 5 seed and will host a first-round game Monday.
Ball State Head Coach James Whitford:
"What we addressed at halftime was that in the first half we had a lot of the same problems we had Tuesday at Central Michigan in terms of frustration and body language. We talked about getting that stuff right, and in the second half I thought we were as good as we've been all year. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, free throw shooting cost us."
By the Numbers
• Ball State finished the night shooting 12 for 24 from the free throw line.
• Persons' 23-point effort was his sixth 20-point performance of the season. The junior guard shot 10 for 17 from the floor.
• Tahjai Teague scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. It was his eighth consecutive double-figure scoring game.
• Sean Sellers finished with nine points, and Zach Gunn added seven. Gunn came off the bench to score seven straight during a first-half run for the Cardinals.
• MAC leading scorer Eugene German led all scorers with 25 points, while Levi Bradley had 18 points and 17 rebounds.
• The Huskies had a 49-35 advantage on the glass. They finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds, outscoring the Cardinals 19-4 in second-chance points.
• Ball State out-shot NIU 42.9 percent to 39.5 percent over the opening 20 minutes, but NIU had 10 more looks at the basket thanks to a 27-15 rebounding advantage, including a 12-3 margin on the offensive glass. They led by eight at the break.
How It Happened
• German scored all 17 of his first-half points in the span of seven minutes. During that period, NIU turned an 18-13 deficit into a 33-25 lead.
• The Huskies stretched their lead to as many as 10 and then took a 37-29 lead into halftime.
• The Cardinals opened the second half with 15 unanswered points to take a 44-37 lead. BSU hit 6 of its first 9 shots after halftime while holding the Huskies to an 0-for-7 start to the half.
• That was Ball State's largest advantage. The lead stayed within six points the rest of the way. The Cardinals still led 65-59 with 1:30 to play, but NIU scored the final seven points to win.
• A 3-point play from Dante Thorpe trimmed the lead to three, and then German scored the final four points. His layup with 33 seconds left pulled the Huskies within one, and his 18-foot jumper with 16 seconds remaining pushed them over the top.
Tayler Persons scored 23 points to lead the Cardinals, but Northern Illinois came back from a six-point deficit in the final 90 seconds by scoring the last seven points of the game. Persons' contested look from the 3-point line came up short in the closing seconds, and a tip attempt was off the mark as time expired.
Ball State dropped to 19-12 (10-8 MAC), while Northern Illinois improved to 13-18 (6-12 MAC) to close the regular season.
The Cardinals' MAC Tournament seed now rests with the Western Michigan-Central Michigan game, which was postponed until Saturday. If Central Michigan wins, Ball State will claim the No. 4 seed and the final first-round bye. If Western Michigan wins, the Cardinals will be the No. 5 seed and will host a first-round game Monday.
Ball State Head Coach James Whitford:
"What we addressed at halftime was that in the first half we had a lot of the same problems we had Tuesday at Central Michigan in terms of frustration and body language. We talked about getting that stuff right, and in the second half I thought we were as good as we've been all year. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, free throw shooting cost us."
By the Numbers
• Ball State finished the night shooting 12 for 24 from the free throw line.
• Persons' 23-point effort was his sixth 20-point performance of the season. The junior guard shot 10 for 17 from the floor.
• Tahjai Teague scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. It was his eighth consecutive double-figure scoring game.
• Sean Sellers finished with nine points, and Zach Gunn added seven. Gunn came off the bench to score seven straight during a first-half run for the Cardinals.
• MAC leading scorer Eugene German led all scorers with 25 points, while Levi Bradley had 18 points and 17 rebounds.
• The Huskies had a 49-35 advantage on the glass. They finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds, outscoring the Cardinals 19-4 in second-chance points.
• Ball State out-shot NIU 42.9 percent to 39.5 percent over the opening 20 minutes, but NIU had 10 more looks at the basket thanks to a 27-15 rebounding advantage, including a 12-3 margin on the offensive glass. They led by eight at the break.
How It Happened
• German scored all 17 of his first-half points in the span of seven minutes. During that period, NIU turned an 18-13 deficit into a 33-25 lead.
• The Huskies stretched their lead to as many as 10 and then took a 37-29 lead into halftime.
• The Cardinals opened the second half with 15 unanswered points to take a 44-37 lead. BSU hit 6 of its first 9 shots after halftime while holding the Huskies to an 0-for-7 start to the half.
• That was Ball State's largest advantage. The lead stayed within six points the rest of the way. The Cardinals still led 65-59 with 1:30 to play, but NIU scored the final seven points to win.
• A 3-point play from Dante Thorpe trimmed the lead to three, and then German scored the final four points. His layup with 33 seconds left pulled the Huskies within one, and his 18-foot jumper with 16 seconds remaining pushed them over the top.
Team Stats
BSU
NIU
FG%
.453
.368
3FG%
.278
.333
FT%
.500
.579
RB
35
49
TO
12
10
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball // Post Game Press Conference at Wisconsin
Wednesday, November 12
Men's Basketball // Recap Video - win vs. Mansfield
Monday, November 10
Men's Basketball // Post Game Press Conference vs Mansfield
Saturday, November 08
Men's Basketball // Recap vs Louisiana
Wednesday, November 05