Friday, January 10
Akron, Ohio
9:00 PM ET
Ball State University
9-7,2-1MAC
60
at
75
Akron
13-3,3-0MAC
1
2
F
Ball St.
30
30
60
Akron
27
48
75
Photo by: Ball State Athletics
Zips Shoot Past Cardinals in BSU’s First MAC Road Test
January 11, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Teague goes for double-double as Ball State suffers first league loss
AKRON, Ohio -- Akron came out of the halftime locker room on fire and rode its hot shooting to a 75-60 victory over Ball State in Friday night's matchup of 2-0 MAC teams at Rhodes Arena.
The Zips (13-3, 3-0 MAC) made 14 of their first 17 second-half shot attempts and turned a three-point deficit at the intermission into a lead of as many as 20. The Cardinals (9-7, 2-1 MAC) spent the remainder of the game playing from behind.
Tahjai Teague managed his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds, doing most of his damage in the first half, while Ishmael El-Amin added 17 points for the Cardinals. Xeyrius Williams led three Akron players in double figures with 23 points.
"They came out in the second half and put together a great half," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "I thought we got a little rattled when they made a run. We let a lot of things get to us. We defended in the first half; we couldn't in the second half."
Akron entered as the top 3-point percentage team in the MAC. After hitting only 2-of-10 in the first half, the Zips hit 5-of-9 after the break, most of them early as they opened up their lead. Williams hit four of those treys and five for the game.
Ball State led by as many as 10 points in the first half. The Cardinals found success getting to the rim, largely on drives from Teague and Jarron Coleman. After Akron tied the game late in the first half, Teague hit a 3-pointer to put BSU back on top heading to the break.
But Williams made four 3's in the first seven minutes of the second half as part of a 25-7 run that put Akron ahead by double digits. The Zips went on to score 48 points over the final 20 minutes, the most BSU has allowed in a half this season outside of the first half against then-No. 22 Washington at the Diamond Head Classic.
Loren Christian Jackson finished with 19 points for Akron, and Tyler Cheese added 17. Coleman and Kyle Mallers both added nine for BSU.
Friday's contest was the first in a stretch that will see Ball State play four of five on the road. The Cardinals are back in action Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tip at Eastern Michigan on ESPN+ before returning to Worthen Arena to host Miami on Saturday, Jan. 18.
The Zips (13-3, 3-0 MAC) made 14 of their first 17 second-half shot attempts and turned a three-point deficit at the intermission into a lead of as many as 20. The Cardinals (9-7, 2-1 MAC) spent the remainder of the game playing from behind.
Tahjai Teague managed his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds, doing most of his damage in the first half, while Ishmael El-Amin added 17 points for the Cardinals. Xeyrius Williams led three Akron players in double figures with 23 points.
"They came out in the second half and put together a great half," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "I thought we got a little rattled when they made a run. We let a lot of things get to us. We defended in the first half; we couldn't in the second half."
Akron entered as the top 3-point percentage team in the MAC. After hitting only 2-of-10 in the first half, the Zips hit 5-of-9 after the break, most of them early as they opened up their lead. Williams hit four of those treys and five for the game.
Ball State led by as many as 10 points in the first half. The Cardinals found success getting to the rim, largely on drives from Teague and Jarron Coleman. After Akron tied the game late in the first half, Teague hit a 3-pointer to put BSU back on top heading to the break.
Lots of rack attacks in Akron! ??
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 11, 2020
Cards with the biggest lead of the first half at 23-14 with 7:42 left after some strong takes by Boogie and Tahj.#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsAKR pic.twitter.com/6cv5ndkSiP
But Williams made four 3's in the first seven minutes of the second half as part of a 25-7 run that put Akron ahead by double digits. The Zips went on to score 48 points over the final 20 minutes, the most BSU has allowed in a half this season outside of the first half against then-No. 22 Washington at the Diamond Head Classic.
Loren Christian Jackson finished with 19 points for Akron, and Tyler Cheese added 17. Coleman and Kyle Mallers both added nine for BSU.
Friday's contest was the first in a stretch that will see Ball State play four of five on the road. The Cardinals are back in action Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tip at Eastern Michigan on ESPN+ before returning to Worthen Arena to host Miami on Saturday, Jan. 18.
Team Stats
BSU
UA
FG%
.404
.456
3FG%
.318
.368
FT%
.538
.889
RB
29
41
TO
14
15
STL
6
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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