Sunday, November 17
Indianapolis, Ind. (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
4:30 PM ET
Ball State University
3-1,0-0MAC
69
vs
55
Indiana State
0-3,0-0MVC
1
2
F
Indiana St.
26
29
55
Ball St.
27
42
69
Photo by: Kyle Crawford
Cardinals Win Third Straight over Rival Indiana State, 69-55
November 17, 2019 | Men's Basketball
BSU again picks up offense in second half to pull away from Sycamores
INDIANAPOLIS -- James Whitford called Tahjai Teague the best player on the floor Sunday. He credited Teague's smarts and Kyle Mallers' ability to switch screens as catalysts for a quality defensive performance.Â
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But he also wanted to make one thing crystal clear; this was a complete team victory.
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The Cardinals (3-1) pulled away in the second half for a 69-55 win over Indiana State at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and their third straight win in the series.
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"Watching (Indiana State) on film, they're a good team, and I don't have any question they're going to have a good year," Whitford said. "We didn't shoot the ball well (in the first half) … but we defended our tail off, we rebounded the ball really well … I thought we played two really good halves."
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Teague went for 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, as the Pike High School product made 10 of his 13 shot attempts in front of a hometown crowd.Â
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It continued an impressive trend for the fifth-year senior against Indiana State (0-3). Over the past three meetings with the Sycamores, including Sunday's game, Teague is averaging nearly 19 points on a combined 25-for-32 (78 percent) shooting.
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Like BSU's win four days earlier at UIC, Teague's ability to score inside carried Ball State offensively until the team's outside shooting came around. And like it has in every game so far this year, that happened right after halftime.
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Ishmael El-Amin and Mallers hit 3-pointers as part of an 8-0 spurt that turned a 27-26 halftime advantage into a nine-point lead. After making 1-of-12 from deep in the first half, the Cardinals hit 5-of-11 after the break. A Luke Bumbalough 3 with 12:50 left made it a 12-point lead, and Ball State controlled things the rest of the way.
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"We stuck with our gameplan," El-Amin said. "Tahjai made some great plays with the ball. Josh (Thompson) made some great plays with the ball, driving. In the first half, we had the same shots; we just missed. In the second half, we were able to deliver."
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K.J. Walton nearly joined Teague in the double-double category with 16 points and nine rebounds. His performance helped key Ball State's 41-28 dominance on the glass.
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Walton consistently got to the foul line where he was 8-for-8. The Cardinals were 17-for-24 at the stripe as a team, while Indiana State attempted only 13 foul shots.
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El-Amin added 11 points, while Mallers had nine and Bumbalough seven. Jordan Barnes (12) and Tyreke Key (11) led the way for Indiana State. Key was the top scorer in the Missouri Valley Conference last year.
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Sunday's game was just the third neutral site matchup of the 134 played in the history of the Ball State-Indiana State series. The Cardinals also won in 1975 at the old Market Square Arena.
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Ball State will now return home for five games in a row, starting Wednesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff against 2019 NCAA Tournament team Northern Kentucky. The game will air on ESPN+.
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But he also wanted to make one thing crystal clear; this was a complete team victory.
Â
The Cardinals (3-1) pulled away in the second half for a 69-55 win over Indiana State at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and their third straight win in the series.
Â
"Watching (Indiana State) on film, they're a good team, and I don't have any question they're going to have a good year," Whitford said. "We didn't shoot the ball well (in the first half) … but we defended our tail off, we rebounded the ball really well … I thought we played two really good halves."
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Teague went for 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, as the Pike High School product made 10 of his 13 shot attempts in front of a hometown crowd.Â
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Defense ?? Offense pic.twitter.com/T4dVfg8CLs
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 17, 2019
It continued an impressive trend for the fifth-year senior against Indiana State (0-3). Over the past three meetings with the Sycamores, including Sunday's game, Teague is averaging nearly 19 points on a combined 25-for-32 (78 percent) shooting.
Â
Like BSU's win four days earlier at UIC, Teague's ability to score inside carried Ball State offensively until the team's outside shooting came around. And like it has in every game so far this year, that happened right after halftime.
Â
Ishmael El-Amin and Mallers hit 3-pointers as part of an 8-0 spurt that turned a 27-26 halftime advantage into a nine-point lead. After making 1-of-12 from deep in the first half, the Cardinals hit 5-of-11 after the break. A Luke Bumbalough 3 with 12:50 left made it a 12-point lead, and Ball State controlled things the rest of the way.
Â
"We stuck with our gameplan," El-Amin said. "Tahjai made some great plays with the ball. Josh (Thompson) made some great plays with the ball, driving. In the first half, we had the same shots; we just missed. In the second half, we were able to deliver."
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Luke for 3?
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 17, 2019
Cards have their biggest lead of the game.
Ball State 43, Indiana State 31#WeFly | #ChirpChirp pic.twitter.com/QwrLIj5cCb
K.J. Walton nearly joined Teague in the double-double category with 16 points and nine rebounds. His performance helped key Ball State's 41-28 dominance on the glass.
Â
Walton consistently got to the foul line where he was 8-for-8. The Cardinals were 17-for-24 at the stripe as a team, while Indiana State attempted only 13 foul shots.
Â
El-Amin added 11 points, while Mallers had nine and Bumbalough seven. Jordan Barnes (12) and Tyreke Key (11) led the way for Indiana State. Key was the top scorer in the Missouri Valley Conference last year.
Â
Sunday's game was just the third neutral site matchup of the 134 played in the history of the Ball State-Indiana State series. The Cardinals also won in 1975 at the old Market Square Arena.
Â
Ball State will now return home for five games in a row, starting Wednesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff against 2019 NCAA Tournament team Northern Kentucky. The game will air on ESPN+.
Â
"They're a good team. I don't have any question they're going to have a good year ... It was a good team win for us."
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 18, 2019
— Coach Whit pic.twitter.com/3i8aVKytDg
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Team Stats
ISU
BSU
FG%
.407
.442
3FG%
.385
.261
FT%
.462
.708
RB
28
41
TO
10
12
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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