Saturday, January 25
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
4:30 PM ET
Ball State University
11-8,4-2MAC
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Central Michigan
11-8,4-2MAC
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Ball St.
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Central Mich.
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Photo by: Ball State Athletics
Turnover Bug Bites Cardinals, Spoils Strong Defensive Effort at Central Michigan
January 25, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Tahjai Teague registers 17 points, career-high 18 rebounds, five blocks in road setback
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Ball State felt optimistic at halftime of Saturday's MAC West Division battle at Central Michigan.
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Despite an opening 20 minutes that saw the Cardinals turn the ball over 17 times and hit just 1-of-9 from 3-point range, they trailed by only six.Â
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Ball State pulled within one point twice in the second half, giving itself a chance to solidify its solo position atop the division standings with a second early league road win.
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But BSU, which entered with the MAC's best assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play, could never shake the turnover bug. The Cardinals (11-8, 4-2 MAC) gave the ball away a remarkable 28 times in a 71-66 loss at McGuirk Arena, as the Chippewas (11-8, 4-2 MAC) matched them for the division lead.
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"We didn't play well, and it's hard for me to figure out why," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We played rushed and sped up … I will say it wasn't for lack of effort. We had a really good week of practice, and I thought we came in here ready to win."
Tahjai Teague recorded his third double-double in four games. The fifth-year senior scored 17 points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds, besting the 17 boards he had two games ago at Eastern Michigan. He also added five blocked shots in a performance Whitford called one of his best of the year, largely because of what he did defensively.
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Ball State held Central Michigan, the MAC's highest scoring team, a dozen points below its average, forced the Chippewas into 39.7 percent shooting and crashed the boards to the tune of a 42-31 advantage. Most nights, those numbers will win you a game. But most nights, you don't struggle through the severe turnover problems the Cardinals did Saturday.
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"A lot of the effort numbers were there," Whitford said. "We defended our tail off. We dominated them on the glass. A lot of the things you're really looking for as a coach. But we made a lot of poor decisions tonight."
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Ball State trailed just 59-57 with 4:03 to play after Luke Bumbalough found Teague all alone for a dunk. The Cardinals were riding an 11-3 run at the time that brought them back from a double-digit deficit. But Central Michigan answered with a 9-1 run, aided by a pair of key BSU turnovers, to effectively put the game away.
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A trio of BSU freshmen joined Teague in double figures -- Bumbalough (13), Jarron Coleman (12) and Kani Acree (10). Ishmael El-Amin, wearing protective glasses after suffering a cut to his eye last week against Miami, scored five early points but finished with seven as he struggled to find his rhythm.
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Central Michigan's Dallas Morgan scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead five Chippewas in double figures.
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Ball State is continuing a stretch that will see the Cardinals play six out of eight games on the road. BSU will hit the road again Tuesday to face MAC preseason favorite Bowling Green and then return to Muncie to host Ohio on Saturday.
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Despite an opening 20 minutes that saw the Cardinals turn the ball over 17 times and hit just 1-of-9 from 3-point range, they trailed by only six.Â
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Ball State pulled within one point twice in the second half, giving itself a chance to solidify its solo position atop the division standings with a second early league road win.
Â
But BSU, which entered with the MAC's best assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play, could never shake the turnover bug. The Cardinals (11-8, 4-2 MAC) gave the ball away a remarkable 28 times in a 71-66 loss at McGuirk Arena, as the Chippewas (11-8, 4-2 MAC) matched them for the division lead.
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"We didn't play well, and it's hard for me to figure out why," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We played rushed and sped up … I will say it wasn't for lack of effort. We had a really good week of practice, and I thought we came in here ready to win."
Tahjai Teague recorded his third double-double in four games. The fifth-year senior scored 17 points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds, besting the 17 boards he had two games ago at Eastern Michigan. He also added five blocked shots in a performance Whitford called one of his best of the year, largely because of what he did defensively.
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Ball State held Central Michigan, the MAC's highest scoring team, a dozen points below its average, forced the Chippewas into 39.7 percent shooting and crashed the boards to the tune of a 42-31 advantage. Most nights, those numbers will win you a game. But most nights, you don't struggle through the severe turnover problems the Cardinals did Saturday.
Â
"A lot of the effort numbers were there," Whitford said. "We defended our tail off. We dominated them on the glass. A lot of the things you're really looking for as a coach. But we made a lot of poor decisions tonight."
Â
Ball State trailed just 59-57 with 4:03 to play after Luke Bumbalough found Teague all alone for a dunk. The Cardinals were riding an 11-3 run at the time that brought them back from a double-digit deficit. But Central Michigan answered with a 9-1 run, aided by a pair of key BSU turnovers, to effectively put the game away.
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A trio of BSU freshmen joined Teague in double figures -- Bumbalough (13), Jarron Coleman (12) and Kani Acree (10). Ishmael El-Amin, wearing protective glasses after suffering a cut to his eye last week against Miami, scored five early points but finished with seven as he struggled to find his rhythm.
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Central Michigan's Dallas Morgan scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead five Chippewas in double figures.
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Ball State is continuing a stretch that will see the Cardinals play six out of eight games on the road. BSU will hit the road again Tuesday to face MAC preseason favorite Bowling Green and then return to Muncie to host Ohio on Saturday.
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Team Stats
BSU
CMU
FG%
.449
.397
3FG%
.263
.294
FT%
.680
.762
RB
42
31
TO
28
16
STL
6
18
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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