Saturday, January 26
Athens, Ohio
2:00 PM ET
Ball State University
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Ohio
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Ball St.
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Ohio
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Photo by: Timothy Sofranko
Cardinals Cool off Late as Ohio Pulls out Tight MAC Win
January 26, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Ball State knocks down 10 3-pointers but falls on road
ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ball State men's basketball team made 10 3-pointers and shot better than 50 percent for most of the game Saturday, but a cold spell in the final minutes at Ohio left the Cardinals on the wrong end, 78-74.
Tayler Persons led Ball State with 21 points and five assists, as the Cardinals (11-9, 2-5 MAC) came up just short in their bid for a third league road win.
Ohio's Gavin Block hit a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to play that put Ohio ahead, 78-74. The Cardinals had the ball twice more in a one-possession game, but a Persons jumper in the lane and a Kyle Mallers corner 3 were off the mark.
Ball State hit just one of its final 10 attempts, scoring only two points over the final five and a half minutes, as Ohio (11-8, 3-4 MAC) pulled one out to sweep the season series between the teams.
"This was there to win for us," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We didn't play our best by any stretch of the imagination. I thought we had a better grasp of what we have to do to be successful. The ball moved a lot better; we played much faster on offense. Down the stretch we had opportunities to make some big plays, and we didn't."
Earlier in the game it was a far different story. The Cardinals made seven field goals in a row at one point during the first half to take control.
After making just one 3-pointer earlier in the week against Miami, the Cardinals hit 10 of their first 15 from beyond the arc in this one. Persons' step-back 3 at the halftime buzzer sent the Cardinals to the locker room with a 37-30 lead.
The lead was nine early in the second half before a series of turnovers led to an Ohio run that squared the game back up. BSU turned the ball over 17 times on the day, leading to 23 Ohio points.
After Jason Carter's bucket with 16:03 to play put the Bobcats back on top, the teams traded the lead the rest of the way.
K.J. Walton's free throw line jumper with 2:34 left gave Ball State a 74-73 lead, but it turned out to be the Cardinals' final basket of the day.
Walton and Mallers scored 10 points each for Ball State, while Trey Moses pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Seven different BSU players scored at least eight points, but it wasn't enough.
Carter and Block led the way for Ohio with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
"I told my team in the locker room that tough times don't last, mentally tough teams do," Whitford said. "We'll get through this. We did some things tonight better than we did the last game, but we just couldn't quite get over the hump."
Ball State will travel to 14th-ranked Buffalo for a 7 p.m. tipoff Tuesday on ESPN3. It will be the Cardinals' fourth road game in a five-game stretch.
Tayler Persons led Ball State with 21 points and five assists, as the Cardinals (11-9, 2-5 MAC) came up just short in their bid for a third league road win.
Ohio's Gavin Block hit a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to play that put Ohio ahead, 78-74. The Cardinals had the ball twice more in a one-possession game, but a Persons jumper in the lane and a Kyle Mallers corner 3 were off the mark.
Ball State hit just one of its final 10 attempts, scoring only two points over the final five and a half minutes, as Ohio (11-8, 3-4 MAC) pulled one out to sweep the season series between the teams.
"This was there to win for us," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We didn't play our best by any stretch of the imagination. I thought we had a better grasp of what we have to do to be successful. The ball moved a lot better; we played much faster on offense. Down the stretch we had opportunities to make some big plays, and we didn't."
Earlier in the game it was a far different story. The Cardinals made seven field goals in a row at one point during the first half to take control.
After making just one 3-pointer earlier in the week against Miami, the Cardinals hit 10 of their first 15 from beyond the arc in this one. Persons' step-back 3 at the halftime buzzer sent the Cardinals to the locker room with a 37-30 lead.
James Harden or Tayler Persons???
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 26, 2019
TP sending the Cards to the locker room like ...#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsOHIO pic.twitter.com/1UEccThQBh
The lead was nine early in the second half before a series of turnovers led to an Ohio run that squared the game back up. BSU turned the ball over 17 times on the day, leading to 23 Ohio points.
After Jason Carter's bucket with 16:03 to play put the Bobcats back on top, the teams traded the lead the rest of the way.
K.J. Walton's free throw line jumper with 2:34 left gave Ball State a 74-73 lead, but it turned out to be the Cardinals' final basket of the day.
Walton and Mallers scored 10 points each for Ball State, while Trey Moses pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Seven different BSU players scored at least eight points, but it wasn't enough.
Carter and Block led the way for Ohio with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
"I told my team in the locker room that tough times don't last, mentally tough teams do," Whitford said. "We'll get through this. We did some things tonight better than we did the last game, but we just couldn't quite get over the hump."
Ball State will travel to 14th-ranked Buffalo for a 7 p.m. tipoff Tuesday on ESPN3. It will be the Cardinals' fourth road game in a five-game stretch.
"I told our team in the locker room: Tough times don't last; mentally tough teams do."
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 26, 2019
Coach Whitford on today's loss in the final minute at Ohio. pic.twitter.com/84wJ1CGAAJ
Team Stats
M-47
M-519
FG%
.475
.463
3FG%
.556
.292
FT%
.750
.563
RB
37
37
TO
17
12
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's BasketballG
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