Tuesday, January 28
Bowling Green, Ohio
7:00 PM ET
Ball State University
11-9,4-3MAC
61
at
67
Bowling Green
16-5,7-1MAC
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F
Ball St.
23
38
61
Bowling Green
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Photo by: Ball State Athletics
MAC Leader Bowling Green Overtakes BSU Down the Stretch for 67-61 Win
January 28, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Tahjai Teague goes for another double-double but Cardinals drop league road game
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Ball State rallied from an 11-point deficit at the break to lead for much of the second half Tuesday night, but Bowling Green seized control again with a late spurt behind one of the MAC's top players to prevail 67-61 at the Stroh Center.
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The Falcons (16-5, 7-1 MAC) took over sole possession of first place in the conference league standings by virtue of their win and Akron's loss to Buffalo. The Cardinals (11-9, 4-3 MAC) suffered their second tough road loss in four days but remain in the thick of the league's West Division race.
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Tahjai Teague recorded his fourth double-double in the past five games with 18 points and 11 rebounds, surging the Cardinals into the lead in the second half. Ishmael El-Amin scored 17 points, and Jarron Coleman added 11.
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But Bowling Green's Trey Diggs led his team with a career-high 25 points. The junior went off, hitting 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and scoring 21 more than his conference average. All-MAC guard Justin Turner added 20 points, including 16 in the final five and a half minutes to propel the Falcons to victory.
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"They went with a real small lineup (down the stretch)," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "They could shoot it from all five positions. I thought it spread us out a little bit and probably got us too worried about the 3-point line, and we lost Justin Turner."
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Coleman scored seven of his points in the first five minutes after halftime, mostly in transition, as Ball State bounced back from a 27 percent shooting performance in the first half to cut into the Bowling Green lead.
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Teague later scored eight straight with back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a driving slam dunk to propel the Cardinals to a 43-38 advantage with 11:48 to play. BSU was riding a 20-4 run at that point and held onto the lead deep into the second half.
But with 3:08 left, Turner regained the lead for Bowling Green at 57-56 on a 3-pointer. He went on to score the Falcons' final 13 points. Meanwhile, Ball State, which struggled shooting for much of the night, went cold down the stretch. The Falcons, in turn, started to get some easy buckets.
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"I thought our transition defense wasn't what it normally is," Whitford said. "I thought there were eight points in the first half and a couple big 3's in the second half we gave up in transition that I would call uncharacteristic for us."
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Ball State played the final 6:22 without veteran 4-man Kyle Mallers who fouled out. It was a tough night for the senior who was whistled five fouls in just 13 minutes.
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After committing 28 turnovers Saturday at Central Michigan, Ball State gave the ball away only seven times Tuesday. But the Cardinals couldn't cash in their opportunities, shooting 35 percent for the game and hitting only 5-of-27 from 3-point range.
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After two straight road games and four of its past five away from home, Ball State will return to Muncie to host Ohio as part of a Saturday men's and women's doubleheader at Worthen Arena. The game will tip at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.
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The Falcons (16-5, 7-1 MAC) took over sole possession of first place in the conference league standings by virtue of their win and Akron's loss to Buffalo. The Cardinals (11-9, 4-3 MAC) suffered their second tough road loss in four days but remain in the thick of the league's West Division race.
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Tahjai Teague recorded his fourth double-double in the past five games with 18 points and 11 rebounds, surging the Cardinals into the lead in the second half. Ishmael El-Amin scored 17 points, and Jarron Coleman added 11.
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Tahj slams it home for 8 straight points!#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsBG pic.twitter.com/QmovgHV5iE
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 29, 2020
But Bowling Green's Trey Diggs led his team with a career-high 25 points. The junior went off, hitting 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and scoring 21 more than his conference average. All-MAC guard Justin Turner added 20 points, including 16 in the final five and a half minutes to propel the Falcons to victory.
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"They went with a real small lineup (down the stretch)," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "They could shoot it from all five positions. I thought it spread us out a little bit and probably got us too worried about the 3-point line, and we lost Justin Turner."
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Coleman scored seven of his points in the first five minutes after halftime, mostly in transition, as Ball State bounced back from a 27 percent shooting performance in the first half to cut into the Bowling Green lead.
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Teague later scored eight straight with back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a driving slam dunk to propel the Cardinals to a 43-38 advantage with 11:48 to play. BSU was riding a 20-4 run at that point and held onto the lead deep into the second half.
Boogie with the steal and finish! ??
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 29, 2020
Cards riding a 6-0 run to start the second half and force a Bowling Green timeout. BG 34, BSU 29.#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsBG pic.twitter.com/zcOajRXr8A
But with 3:08 left, Turner regained the lead for Bowling Green at 57-56 on a 3-pointer. He went on to score the Falcons' final 13 points. Meanwhile, Ball State, which struggled shooting for much of the night, went cold down the stretch. The Falcons, in turn, started to get some easy buckets.
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"I thought our transition defense wasn't what it normally is," Whitford said. "I thought there were eight points in the first half and a couple big 3's in the second half we gave up in transition that I would call uncharacteristic for us."
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Ball State played the final 6:22 without veteran 4-man Kyle Mallers who fouled out. It was a tough night for the senior who was whistled five fouls in just 13 minutes.
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After committing 28 turnovers Saturday at Central Michigan, Ball State gave the ball away only seven times Tuesday. But the Cardinals couldn't cash in their opportunities, shooting 35 percent for the game and hitting only 5-of-27 from 3-point range.
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After two straight road games and four of its past five away from home, Ball State will return to Muncie to host Ohio as part of a Saturday men's and women's doubleheader at Worthen Arena. The game will tip at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.
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Team Stats
BSU
BGSU
FG%
.348
.367
3FG%
.185
.364
FT%
.500
.789
RB
42
47
TO
7
10
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Men's Basketball
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