Resilient Cardinals Off To 2-0 Conference Start

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Sometimes you, sometimes me. Always us. That was the message for the Ball State men's basketball team from associate head coach Jason Grunkemeyer, who assumed the head coaching duties for the Cardinals while head coach James Whitford was home with a non-COVID illness. The Cardinals took that message to heart in a 76-68 victory at Western Michigan on Tuesday, giving the team a 2-0 start in conference play.

K.J. Walton scored 20 points, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his career, and Luke Bumbalough played his best game of the season with 17 points and four assists. Brachen Hazen added 15 points.

CARDS DUB!!!

76-68 win on the road. 2-0 in the league.

Celebrate. pic.twitter.com/XkqsuSIHak
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 22, 2020

TURNING POINT: Western Michigan won the first 20 minutes of the game before a big run by the Cardinals turned the game around. BSU ripped off a 12-0 run early in the second half and the two teams traded buckets down the stretch. Bumbalough played the role of closer and gave Ball State the game for good when he sank a 3-pointer with 2:13 left that gave Ball State a 72-66 lead. A minute early, with Ball State up three, he scored a driving lay-up to keep the home team WMU (2-5, 1-1 MAC) at bay. A jumper by Walton and two foul shots from Ishmael El-Amin provided the final scoring.

"It helps a lot, but you try not too get to high or too low. You just control what you can control," Bumbalough said after shooting 6-for-7 and making four 3-pointers on the day. "We'll just focus on the next game now."

IMPORTANCE OF THIS WIN: Ball State is now the only team in the conference with a 2-0 record that includes two road wins. BSU has now won at Northern Illinois and at Western Michigan. After the first of the year, the Cards have their next two games at home.

STRAIGHT FROM THE ACTING COACH: "Obviously, any time you win on the road is great in this league," Grunkemeyer said. "(After) being down seven in the first half, I didn't think we were playing bad, the effort was there. We were in the right mindframe. There were just a couple areas we needed to clean up. I've been with James (Whitford) eight years now. I know our system and I think I know what he'd want us to do. He's great about giving us in practice, where we'll coach a team as assistants. So we have experience calling plays and that kind of stuff. So we were as prepared as we could be. I didn't feel out of place. I've been around a long time. It was a different role, but one I felt pretty comfortable in."

ANYTHING TO HELP THE TEAM: Ishmael El-Amin entered Tuesday's game as one of the top scorers in the conference at 17.2 points per game. Western Michigan made it a point to take away his scoring opportunities, and coupled with the role El-Amin plays as the primary ballhandler right now, shots were at a premium. El-Amin finished with seven points on 2-for-8 shooting, but certainly impacted in other areas. He collected season highs in assists (7) and rebounds (6) and had a couple of steals to help the Cardinals to the win.

"Win. By any means," El-Amin said. "Just try to continue to be a leader and put my teammates in positions to be successful."

K.J. TOPS 1,000: With his 20 points, Walton surpassed the 1,000 milestone for his career, ending the day at 1,005. Walton, who scored 378 points in two years at Missouri before transferring, now has 627 points in a Ball State uniform.

UP NEXT: Ball State won't play for 11 days. Ohio comes to Worthen Arena Saturday, Jan. 2, and this same Western Michigan team visits Tuesday, Jan. 5.

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Team Stats

K.J. Walton

Luke Bumbalough

Brachen Hazen

Ishmael El-Amin

Players Mentioned

Luke Bumbalough

Ishmael El-Amin

Brachen Hazen

K.J. Walton

Players Mentioned

Luke Bumbalough

Ishmael El-Amin

Brachen Hazen

K.J. Walton