Saturday, November 23
Muncie, Ind.
3:30 PM ET
Ball State University
4-2,0-0MAC
100
vs
69
Howard
0-7,0-0MEAC
1
2
F
Howard
29
40
69
Ball St.
53
47
100
Photo by: Kyle Crawford
Cardinals Drain School-Record 21 Treys, Hit Century Mark in Win over Howard
November 23, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Kyle Mallers ties Dennis Trammell’s school record with eight 3-pointers
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Kyle Mallers already had seven 3-pointers Saturday when he got a good look from beyond the arc on Ball State's first possession of the second half.
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He only needed one more to tie the school record. But his teammate Josh Thompson was down in the corner for a better look, so Mallers dished it to him. And Thompson canned it.
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"If they would have closed out on me, I would have kicked it right back," Thompson said.
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That's the kind of day it was for the Cardinals in a 100-69 victory over Howard. Sharing and burying against Howard's 2-3 zone.
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Thompson racked up plenty of assists himself. Ten of them to be exact, including nine in the first half, to go with zero turnovers. And Mallers eventually tied that school record with eight 3's on his way to a game- and career-high 24 points.
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Ball State (4-2) drained a school-record 21 treys, three more than the previous mark set in a 2016 rout of Eastern Michigan, and the Cardinals registered assists on 30 of their 36 made baskets against the Bison (0-7).
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Freshman Luke Bumbalough racked up six of those 3's for 18 points and had four of the assists. He had the distinction of hitting the record-breaking 3 with just under 5 minutes to play, shortly after fellow rookie Lucas Kroft had tied it.
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"I thought our guys really played unselfish," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "I thought we really took good shots tonight against their zone. The ball was moving by the pass. It was going inside, outside. There were a lot of times a guy could have shot, and he waited and found a teammate for a better one."
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Mallers hit the first four 3's he took and finished 8-of-10 from beyond the arc. He exited the blowout victory early, having matched the BSU single-game mark set by Dennis Trammell against Marshall in 2005. Ishmael El-Amin, who scored 15 points, hit three early ones from deep, as well. It was that duo that was hot from the get-go.
Ball State came in with really strange outside shooting numbers through five games. The Cardinals were hitting just 12 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, a number that would rank last in the country if projected over a full game. In the second half, though, their 49 percent mark would have ranked second nationally.
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BSU had made only seven first-half 3's this season coming in. Mallers made that many alone in the first half Saturday, and the Cardinals connected on 13-of-20 as a team. They finished the day 21-for-37 for 57 percent.
"We kind of just took what the defense gave us," Mallers said. "They were in that kind of soft zone, so we got more open looks."
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When the Cardinals weren't shooting 3's, they were breaking down the zone and getting buckets at the rim. Tahjai Teague (11 points) and Brachen Hazen (10) did most of that damage, combining to go 9-for-9 from the floor.
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If there was an area Whitford was not as ecstatic about, it was the defensive end. Howard shot 50 percent in the first half, and leading scorer Charles Williams reached his average with 18 points. The Bison were only the second BSU opponent to top 60 points this year.
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Ball State will continue its five-game homestand Tuesday, hosting Western Illinois for its only game of the week. Tipoff is at 6 p.m., an hour earlier than typical, on ESPN3. The Leathernecks are coached by former BSU assistant Billy Wright.
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He only needed one more to tie the school record. But his teammate Josh Thompson was down in the corner for a better look, so Mallers dished it to him. And Thompson canned it.
Â
"If they would have closed out on me, I would have kicked it right back," Thompson said.
Â
That's the kind of day it was for the Cardinals in a 100-69 victory over Howard. Sharing and burying against Howard's 2-3 zone.
Â
Thompson racked up plenty of assists himself. Ten of them to be exact, including nine in the first half, to go with zero turnovers. And Mallers eventually tied that school record with eight 3's on his way to a game- and career-high 24 points.
Â
Ball State (4-2) drained a school-record 21 treys, three more than the previous mark set in a 2016 rout of Eastern Michigan, and the Cardinals registered assists on 30 of their 36 made baskets against the Bison (0-7).
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Freshman Luke Bumbalough racked up six of those 3's for 18 points and had four of the assists. He had the distinction of hitting the record-breaking 3 with just under 5 minutes to play, shortly after fellow rookie Lucas Kroft had tied it.
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Here it is! The record breaker.
Luke Bumbalough knocks down the Cardinals' school-record 19th triple of the day.#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsHOW pic.twitter.com/RXRaXNowo8— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 23, 2019
"I thought our guys really played unselfish," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "I thought we really took good shots tonight against their zone. The ball was moving by the pass. It was going inside, outside. There were a lot of times a guy could have shot, and he waited and found a teammate for a better one."
Â
Mallers hit the first four 3's he took and finished 8-of-10 from beyond the arc. He exited the blowout victory early, having matched the BSU single-game mark set by Dennis Trammell against Marshall in 2005. Ishmael El-Amin, who scored 15 points, hit three early ones from deep, as well. It was that duo that was hot from the get-go.
Ball State came in with really strange outside shooting numbers through five games. The Cardinals were hitting just 12 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, a number that would rank last in the country if projected over a full game. In the second half, though, their 49 percent mark would have ranked second nationally.
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BSU had made only seven first-half 3's this season coming in. Mallers made that many alone in the first half Saturday, and the Cardinals connected on 13-of-20 as a team. They finished the day 21-for-37 for 57 percent.
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Kyle FEELING IT!!! And giving 'em that MJ shrug ... He's 4-for-4 from deep. Cards 6-for-7 as a team.#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsHOW pic.twitter.com/XSXCLHDpgS
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 23, 2019
"We kind of just took what the defense gave us," Mallers said. "They were in that kind of soft zone, so we got more open looks."
Â
When the Cardinals weren't shooting 3's, they were breaking down the zone and getting buckets at the rim. Tahjai Teague (11 points) and Brachen Hazen (10) did most of that damage, combining to go 9-for-9 from the floor.
Â
If there was an area Whitford was not as ecstatic about, it was the defensive end. Howard shot 50 percent in the first half, and leading scorer Charles Williams reached his average with 18 points. The Bison were only the second BSU opponent to top 60 points this year.
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Ball State will continue its five-game homestand Tuesday, hosting Western Illinois for its only game of the week. Tipoff is at 6 p.m., an hour earlier than typical, on ESPN3. The Leathernecks are coached by former BSU assistant Billy Wright.
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Coach Whit discusses the team's unselfish play and ability to break down Howard's 2-3 zone from the inside out. pic.twitter.com/dhdwKDRTbz— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 23, 2019
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Team Stats
HOW
BSU
FG%
.448
.590
3FG%
.375
.568
FT%
.688
.875
RB
28
30
TO
8
7
STL
1
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
8
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
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