Saturday, January 19
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
4:30 PM ET
Ball State University
11-7, 2-3MAC
83
at
72
Central Michigan
14-4, 3-2MAC
1
2
F
Ball State
41
42
83
Central Michigan
35
37
72
Photo by: Timothy Sofranko
Cardinals “D”-up High-Flying Chippewas for Big League Road Win
January 19, 2019 | Men's Basketball
K.J. Walton’s career-high 24 points help BSU snap three-game skid
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- All wins may count the same, but they don't necessarily all feel the same. Both because of the situation and the challenge of the opponent.
There was a sense the Ball State men's basketball team needed this one Saturday against MAC West Division co-leader Central Michigan.
And with a focused defensive effort against one of the nation's highest-scoring teams and an efficient offense performance bolstered by K.J. Walton's career-high 24 points, the Cardinals got it.
Ball State (11-7, 2-3 MAC) dealt the Chippewas just their second home loss of the season with an 83-72 victory, winning at McGuirk Arena for the third time in the past four years.
"I was really proud of our team and the way we responded," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We played well (Tuesday) at Bowling Green, we practiced well before that game, we practiced well this week, and we played well here today."
There was some sense of relief in the Ball State locker room over snapping a three-game losing streak, but within the Cardinals' program there was never truly any panic.
Sure, there was that uninspired home loss to Ohio a week ago. But the Cardinals hadn't really played poorly in the other two losses -- in overtime against Eastern Michigan and in a tight game at Bowling Green (which remained unbeaten in league play Saturday with a blowout win over Western Michigan).
Against Central Michigan (14-4, 3-2 MAC), the focus was on defending a team that averages better than 87 points per game, good enough for seventh in the country. The Cardinals held the Chippewas 15 points below that average.
"These guys are really well coached, they have good players, and they spread you out," Whitford said. "We had to be very focused, especially defensively, against them. And we were."
Ball State withstood a second-half run from Central Michigan and answered with one of its own. The Chippewas rallied from an eight-point deficit shortly after the intermission to lead by as many as five.
But over the next eight minutes, the Cardinals turned their biggest deficit into their biggest lead, outscoring CMU 22-4 to open up a 75-62 advantage. Walton cashed in two steals for fastbreak dunks to ignite that stretch, and it was all Ball State from there.
"K.J. really played well," Whitford said. "This kind of game is really set up for him because they're trying to press and doing some things that allow him to get loose to the basket. They were doubling the post off of him, and Trey (Moses) did a good job of finding him off the post traps."
Walton finished the day 12-for-17 from the floor, attacking the rim and converting pull-up jumpers. Tayler Persons scored 21 points, and Moses went for 13, all in the second half.
Kyle Mallers joined them in double figures with 10 points, while Tahjai Teague had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
After a series of slow starts, Ball State came out ready Saturday. The Cardinals forced an early Central Michigan timeout ahead by 10 and built the lead to as many as 13 before CMU picked it up. BSU lead 41-35 at the break and 43-35 in the opening minute of the second half before the Chippewas made their run.
Rob Montgomery led Central Michigan with 19 points, while Shawn Rountree Jr. added 16 and Larry Austin Jr. 15.
Ball State is now 2-1 in MAC road games and 5-3 on the road for the year.
The Cardinals will return home to host Miami for a 7 p.m. tipoff Tuesday on ESPN+.
There was a sense the Ball State men's basketball team needed this one Saturday against MAC West Division co-leader Central Michigan.
And with a focused defensive effort against one of the nation's highest-scoring teams and an efficient offense performance bolstered by K.J. Walton's career-high 24 points, the Cardinals got it.
Ball State (11-7, 2-3 MAC) dealt the Chippewas just their second home loss of the season with an 83-72 victory, winning at McGuirk Arena for the third time in the past four years.
"I was really proud of our team and the way we responded," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We played well (Tuesday) at Bowling Green, we practiced well before that game, we practiced well this week, and we played well here today."
There was some sense of relief in the Ball State locker room over snapping a three-game losing streak, but within the Cardinals' program there was never truly any panic.
Sure, there was that uninspired home loss to Ohio a week ago. But the Cardinals hadn't really played poorly in the other two losses -- in overtime against Eastern Michigan and in a tight game at Bowling Green (which remained unbeaten in league play Saturday with a blowout win over Western Michigan).
Against Central Michigan (14-4, 3-2 MAC), the focus was on defending a team that averages better than 87 points per game, good enough for seventh in the country. The Cardinals held the Chippewas 15 points below that average.
"These guys are really well coached, they have good players, and they spread you out," Whitford said. "We had to be very focused, especially defensively, against them. And we were."
Ball State withstood a second-half run from Central Michigan and answered with one of its own. The Chippewas rallied from an eight-point deficit shortly after the intermission to lead by as many as five.
But over the next eight minutes, the Cardinals turned their biggest deficit into their biggest lead, outscoring CMU 22-4 to open up a 75-62 advantage. Walton cashed in two steals for fastbreak dunks to ignite that stretch, and it was all Ball State from there.
KJ with the steal and slam, trying to ignite some action here in the second half ... pic.twitter.com/4Eu2fOAyvm
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 19, 2019
"K.J. really played well," Whitford said. "This kind of game is really set up for him because they're trying to press and doing some things that allow him to get loose to the basket. They were doubling the post off of him, and Trey (Moses) did a good job of finding him off the post traps."
Walton finished the day 12-for-17 from the floor, attacking the rim and converting pull-up jumpers. Tayler Persons scored 21 points, and Moses went for 13, all in the second half.
Kyle Mallers joined them in double figures with 10 points, while Tahjai Teague had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
After a series of slow starts, Ball State came out ready Saturday. The Cardinals forced an early Central Michigan timeout ahead by 10 and built the lead to as many as 13 before CMU picked it up. BSU lead 41-35 at the break and 43-35 in the opening minute of the second half before the Chippewas made their run.
The Mallers SWAT on one end ... The Tahj SLAM on the other!
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 19, 2019
The Cardinals have extended the lead even further. It's 26-13 (7:54, 1st). BSU shooting 55 percent and owns a 14-4 advantage in the paint.#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsCMU pic.twitter.com/zWsFAgWLkf
Rob Montgomery led Central Michigan with 19 points, while Shawn Rountree Jr. added 16 and Larry Austin Jr. 15.
Ball State is now 2-1 in MAC road games and 5-3 on the road for the year.
The Cardinals will return home to host Miami for a 7 p.m. tipoff Tuesday on ESPN+.
"We had to be very focused, especially defensively, against them. And we were. It was a big win for us."
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 20, 2019
Coach Whitford breaks down today's road win over Central Michigan as the Chippewas suffer just their second home loss of the year. pic.twitter.com/nNnJLk3DF5
Team Stats
BSU
CMU
FG%
.574
.450
3FG%
.333
.304
FT%
.889
.733
RB
32
29
TO
13
15
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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