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Tayler Persons Earns All-MAC Honors for Third Straight Season
March 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Senior guard leads Cardinals into MAC Tournament opener Monday night
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State senior point guard Tayler Persons garnered All-Mid-American Conference recognition for the third consecutive year, earning a third-team nod Monday.
Persons and the Cardinals open MAC Tournament play at 7 p.m. Monday with a first-round game at Eastern Michigan. The winner will advance to meet No. 3 seed Bowling Green in Thursday's quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Persons leads Ball State in scoring and assists this season, as he has done in each of his three years in Muncie, averaging 16.6 points and 4.2 assists per game.
The Kokomo, Indiana, product surpassed 1,900 points for his career in the regular season finale and is one of just five Division I players nationally with at least 1,900 points and 500 assists. He is the active leader in both categories among MAC players.
Persons has started every game for Ball State since joining the Cardinals from Northern Kentucky, where he was the Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year. He is slated to make his 98th straight start for Ball State in Monday's tournament opener. Only Ray McCallum (104) has started more consecutive games in a BSU uniform.
The No. 11 seed Cardinals are looking to avenge a pair of regular season losses to No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan, including one just last week in Ypsilanti. With a win, Ball State would advance to Cleveland for the fourth straight year.
2018-19 All-MAC Selections
All-MAC First Team
Justin Turner, Bowling Green
C.J. Massinburg, Buffalo
Nick Perkins, Buffalo
Jaylin Walker, Kent State
Jaelan Sanford, Toledo
All-MAC Second Team
Demajeo Wiggins, Bowling Green
Jeremy Harris, Buffalo
Larry Austin Jr., Central Michigan
James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan
Eugene German, Northern Illinois
All-MAC Third Team
Tayler Persons, Ball State
Shawn Roundtree, Central Michigan
Nike Sibande, Miami
Jason Carter, Ohio
Seth Dugan, Western Michigan
All-MAC Honorable Mention
Daniel Utomi, Akron
Paul Jackson, Eastern Michigan
Elijah Minnie, Eastern Michigan
Nate Navigato, Toledo
Marreon Jackson, Toledo
All-Freshman Team
Anthony Roberts, Kent State
Mekhi Lairy, Miami
Ben Vander Plas, Ohio
Jason Preston, Ohio
AJ Edu, Toledo
All-Defensive Team
Dontay Caruthers, Buffalo
Davonta Jordan, Buffalo
Larry Austin Jr., Central Michigan
James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan
Darrian Ringo, Miami
Persons and the Cardinals open MAC Tournament play at 7 p.m. Monday with a first-round game at Eastern Michigan. The winner will advance to meet No. 3 seed Bowling Green in Thursday's quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Persons leads Ball State in scoring and assists this season, as he has done in each of his three years in Muncie, averaging 16.6 points and 4.2 assists per game.
The Kokomo, Indiana, product surpassed 1,900 points for his career in the regular season finale and is one of just five Division I players nationally with at least 1,900 points and 500 assists. He is the active leader in both categories among MAC players.
Persons has started every game for Ball State since joining the Cardinals from Northern Kentucky, where he was the Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year. He is slated to make his 98th straight start for Ball State in Monday's tournament opener. Only Ray McCallum (104) has started more consecutive games in a BSU uniform.
The No. 11 seed Cardinals are looking to avenge a pair of regular season losses to No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan, including one just last week in Ypsilanti. With a win, Ball State would advance to Cleveland for the fourth straight year.
2018-19 All-MAC Selections
All-MAC First Team
Justin Turner, Bowling Green
C.J. Massinburg, Buffalo
Nick Perkins, Buffalo
Jaylin Walker, Kent State
Jaelan Sanford, Toledo
All-MAC Second Team
Demajeo Wiggins, Bowling Green
Jeremy Harris, Buffalo
Larry Austin Jr., Central Michigan
James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan
Eugene German, Northern Illinois
All-MAC Third Team
Tayler Persons, Ball State
Shawn Roundtree, Central Michigan
Nike Sibande, Miami
Jason Carter, Ohio
Seth Dugan, Western Michigan
All-MAC Honorable Mention
Daniel Utomi, Akron
Paul Jackson, Eastern Michigan
Elijah Minnie, Eastern Michigan
Nate Navigato, Toledo
Marreon Jackson, Toledo
All-Freshman Team
Anthony Roberts, Kent State
Mekhi Lairy, Miami
Ben Vander Plas, Ohio
Jason Preston, Ohio
AJ Edu, Toledo
All-Defensive Team
Dontay Caruthers, Buffalo
Davonta Jordan, Buffalo
Larry Austin Jr., Central Michigan
James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan
Darrian Ringo, Miami
Players Mentioned
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