Saturday, November 9
Evansville, Ind.
6:00 PM CT (7:00 PM ET)
Ball State University
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Evansville
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Ball St.
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Photo by: Ball State Athletics
Spirited Rally Leaves Cardinals Tantalizingly Close at Evansville
November 09, 2019 | Men's Basketball
BSU shoots better than 70 percent after the break, nearly comes back from 25 down
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- There were plenty of things Ball State knew would be challenging in its first road game of the season Saturday night.
Chief among them was a talented but largely unknown Evansville team featuring seven different players from the squad the Cardinals faced twice a year ago.
Then there was the year's first trip to a hostile environment as Ball State works in its own healthy number of newcomers.
But one challenge that was unanticipated and seemingly the most difficult to overcome: trailing by 25 points early in the second half.
Ball State nearly handled all three. The Cardinals rallied their way to within one point in the final minute and gave themselves a real chance in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Ford Center. But the Purple Aces hung on to escape with a 79-75 victory in their season opener.
If not for an ice cold start from the floor, Ball State may have snagged this early, in-state matchup. The Cardinals, rattled a bit in the early going, shot a paltry 24 percent in the first half but rebounded to shoot 71 percent after the break.
"Some of those shots were the same ones we were taking in the first half," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "It's just the nature of the game; sometimes they go, and sometimes they don't.
"We got better shots in the second half by a significant margin, but we had enough good ones in the first half that should have gone. You have to be able to mentally handle those moments in the game."
It goes without saying after an 18-point first half, but virtually all of Ball State's scorers did their damage after the break: 18 of Tahjai Teague's team-high 20 points, 13 of Ishmael El-Amin's 15, and all 10 of Jarron Coleman's.
The Cardinals drained eight 3-pointers in the second half, including three from El-Amin and two from Coleman. Back-to-back 3's from that duo cut the deficit to single digits with 4:12 to play and put some doubt into the home crowd.
Ball State eventually cut the lead all the way to one in the final minute on a 3-point play from Teague. The Cardinals then got a defensive stop and had the ball with a chance to go ahead, but El-Amin's 3 was off the mark.
BSU had one last chance after two Evansville free throws when Teague was fouled on a home run inbounds pass. He made the first free throw and missed the second on purpose, but the Aces secured the rebound.
It was an intentional miss, but it was one of nine misses on the night for Ball State, which made just 6-of-15 from the foul line.
"We played with great effort in the second half," Whitford said. "As crazy as that game was, if we hit our free throws, we win the game."
Kyle Mallers scored 11 points to give Ball State four in double figures. DeAndre Williams led Evansville with 26 points, while Sam Cunliffe added 17 and K.J. Riley had 14.
Ball State will be back on the road Wednesday to visit UIC, the preseason No. 3 pick in the Horizon League. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT (8 ET) on ESPN+.
Chief among them was a talented but largely unknown Evansville team featuring seven different players from the squad the Cardinals faced twice a year ago.
Then there was the year's first trip to a hostile environment as Ball State works in its own healthy number of newcomers.
But one challenge that was unanticipated and seemingly the most difficult to overcome: trailing by 25 points early in the second half.
Ball State nearly handled all three. The Cardinals rallied their way to within one point in the final minute and gave themselves a real chance in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Ford Center. But the Purple Aces hung on to escape with a 79-75 victory in their season opener.
If not for an ice cold start from the floor, Ball State may have snagged this early, in-state matchup. The Cardinals, rattled a bit in the early going, shot a paltry 24 percent in the first half but rebounded to shoot 71 percent after the break.
"Some of those shots were the same ones we were taking in the first half," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "It's just the nature of the game; sometimes they go, and sometimes they don't.
"We got better shots in the second half by a significant margin, but we had enough good ones in the first half that should have gone. You have to be able to mentally handle those moments in the game."
Fighting back here.
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 10, 2019
Tahj with the denial at the rim, leading to Josh's second long jumper of the second half.
The Evansville lead is 45-28. pic.twitter.com/z2D1eiXEU0
It goes without saying after an 18-point first half, but virtually all of Ball State's scorers did their damage after the break: 18 of Tahjai Teague's team-high 20 points, 13 of Ishmael El-Amin's 15, and all 10 of Jarron Coleman's.
The Cardinals drained eight 3-pointers in the second half, including three from El-Amin and two from Coleman. Back-to-back 3's from that duo cut the deficit to single digits with 4:12 to play and put some doubt into the home crowd.
Ball State eventually cut the lead all the way to one in the final minute on a 3-point play from Teague. The Cardinals then got a defensive stop and had the ball with a chance to go ahead, but El-Amin's 3 was off the mark.
A 3-point play from Tahj after a Josh Thompson steal! Cards within 1! pic.twitter.com/IsTdLjIBOJ
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 10, 2019
BSU had one last chance after two Evansville free throws when Teague was fouled on a home run inbounds pass. He made the first free throw and missed the second on purpose, but the Aces secured the rebound.
It was an intentional miss, but it was one of nine misses on the night for Ball State, which made just 6-of-15 from the foul line.
"We played with great effort in the second half," Whitford said. "As crazy as that game was, if we hit our free throws, we win the game."
Kyle Mallers scored 11 points to give Ball State four in double figures. DeAndre Williams led Evansville with 26 points, while Sam Cunliffe added 17 and K.J. Riley had 14.
Ball State will be back on the road Wednesday to visit UIC, the preseason No. 3 pick in the Horizon League. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT (8 ET) on ESPN+.
"It was a tale of two halves, obviously."
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) November 10, 2019
Coach Whit breaks down the tough start and the spirited rally tonight at Evansville. pic.twitter.com/DXhoO46lfr
Team Stats
BSU
Evans
FG%
.462
.475
3FG%
.391
.474
FT%
.400
.857
RB
37
35
TO
10
17
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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