Sunday, November 21
St. Petersburg, Fla.
2:30 p.m.
Ball State University
2-3,0-0MAC
89
vs
86
UMass
3-3,0-0Atlantic
1
2
F
Ball State
47
42
89
Massachusetts
41
45
86
Photo by: Chad Smith
Cardinals Outlast Minutemen, 89-86
November 21, 2021 | Men's Basketball
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Ball State men's basketball team returned to the McArthur Center for the final day of the Jersey Mike's Classic with a matchup with UMass on Sunday. Tyler Cochran led the Cardinals with a 20-point performance as a total of four players finished in double-digit points for the second-straight game. BSU came back from a nine-point deficit early for an 89-86 victory.
After the two teams traded opening baskets, UMass went on an 11-2 run and gained an 11-4 advantage just three minutes into the game. The Cardinals were resilient and produced an 11-2 run of their own to take a 15-13 lead with 14:04 left in the first half.
After UMass tied the game at 20-20 with 11:58 left in the half, Luke Bumbalough knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Cardinals up three. The Minutemen scored the game's next eight points and took a 28-23 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the first.
Payton Sparks converted on two free-throw attempts and pulled BSU within three, 28-25. Sparks added a layup as he scored four consecutive points for the Cardinals.
After the Minutemen made a free throw to go up 32-27, the Cardinals battled back and tied the game at 34-34 with just over five minutes left in the half. After a 3-pointer by UMass, Mickey Pearson Jr. scored the game's next four points and gave BSU a 38-37 lead with three minutes left in the first half. Cochran converted a second-chance layup and put Ball State up 40-37.
The Cardinals remained focused and ended the half on a 7-4 run to take a 47-41 lead into the locker room.
Ball State came out with the same intensity to start the second half, as Cochran converted an and-1 opportunity and put the Cardinals up 50-41. After UMass made a free throw, Demarius Jacobs drained a 3-pointer to extend the BSU lead to 11. Ball State started to get hot from behind the arc as Cochran and Miryne Thomas got in on the action with a 3-pointer each. During the opening four minutes of the second half, the Cardinals went 4-for-4.
With just over 14 minutes left in regulation, Ball State converted on a four-point swing that came from two free throws from Jalen Windham and two free throws from Cochran after a shooting foul and a technical.
The Cardinals continued to extend their lead, reaching as high as 17 points, 77-60, with 10:45 left in regulation.
UMass went on a 14-4 run that ended at 6:19, which allowed the Minutemen to pull within seven, 81-74. UMass managed to pull within one, 87-86, with 32 seconds left in the game.
The Cardinals were unfazed by the comeback. In the remaining 32 seconds, Ball State tightened the defense and made key free throws to secure an 89-86 victory.
Cochran finished with his best performance in a Ball State jersey with 22 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field. Cochran tied with Sparks for the team lead in rebounds with eight. Bumbalough finished with 14 points with a 3-for-4 performance from 3-point range. Windham recorded his third-straight game in double figures with 13 points while shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Pearson has recorded back-to-back games with 12 points as he was the fourth player with double digits. Pearson added the team's only block of the game. Jacobs and Cochran tied for the team lead with four assists. Bumbalough and Cochran each had two steals to lead the team.
As a team, the Cardinals shot 56.3 percent from 3-point range and 50.9 percent from the field. Ball State improved its season average at the free-throw line with an 81.3 percent performance. BSU outrebounded UMass 38-34. The Ball State bench came up big with 31 points to the UMass bench's 21. The Cardinals held a slim 34-32 edge in points in the paint.
The Minutemen were led by Trent Buttrick and CJ Kelly with 19 points each. Rich Kelly and Dyondre Dominguez added 10 points each. TJ Weeks Jr. led UMass with eight rebounds.
With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 2-3 on the year, while the Minutemen fell to 3-3. Ball State returns to Worthen Arena on Saturday, Nov. 27, for an in-state battle with Indiana State. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.
From the Coach – Head Coach James Whitford
"I'm just really, really obviously proud of our guys. We've been playing better each game here and we knew that but it's great to be able to see one here through the finish line and come away with the win against a really good UMass team. I thought we did a much better job in particular on the offensive end in crunch time. We got a lot of really good shots down the stretch, even when we were in a little scoring slump. We were getting the ball at the rim, and you know it's the name of the game - sometimes those shots go, sometimes they don't. I thought (Tyler Cochran) had a great game. You look at the stat line, he had 22 points and eight rebounds and only missed one shot. We took what the defense gave us. Sometimes you match as a team, that's who they are. If you look at it, they don't give up many threes any game they play. I thought we really played together. The one thing we've been doing a great job of is our assists and field goal rates. We're getting a lot of assists collectively as a team, and I think it's a sign of us really sharing the ball and playing together. Tyler is so special. He had 22 tonight, but he could impact the game just as much and score six points."
From the Student-Athlete – Junior Guard #23 Tyler Cochran
"I want to thank my coaches and my teammates. Since I got here, they told me that my ability to drive makes guys collapse and I can kick it out. It was one thing we worked on all summer with them. It gives me the confidence to keep going to the next play. Every game that we play, as coach says, we need to find ourselves a little bit more every game. Today I really feel like we showed a glimpse of how good we could really be and it's not even there yet. We are going to keep going as a team and keep finding ourselves. I really feel great about this year and what we can become."
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*For tickets call 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474, or click here.
After the two teams traded opening baskets, UMass went on an 11-2 run and gained an 11-4 advantage just three minutes into the game. The Cardinals were resilient and produced an 11-2 run of their own to take a 15-13 lead with 14:04 left in the first half.
After UMass tied the game at 20-20 with 11:58 left in the half, Luke Bumbalough knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Cardinals up three. The Minutemen scored the game's next eight points and took a 28-23 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the first.
Payton Sparks converted on two free-throw attempts and pulled BSU within three, 28-25. Sparks added a layup as he scored four consecutive points for the Cardinals.
After the Minutemen made a free throw to go up 32-27, the Cardinals battled back and tied the game at 34-34 with just over five minutes left in the half. After a 3-pointer by UMass, Mickey Pearson Jr. scored the game's next four points and gave BSU a 38-37 lead with three minutes left in the first half. Cochran converted a second-chance layup and put Ball State up 40-37.
The Cardinals remained focused and ended the half on a 7-4 run to take a 47-41 lead into the locker room.
Ball State came out with the same intensity to start the second half, as Cochran converted an and-1 opportunity and put the Cardinals up 50-41. After UMass made a free throw, Demarius Jacobs drained a 3-pointer to extend the BSU lead to 11. Ball State started to get hot from behind the arc as Cochran and Miryne Thomas got in on the action with a 3-pointer each. During the opening four minutes of the second half, the Cardinals went 4-for-4.
With just over 14 minutes left in regulation, Ball State converted on a four-point swing that came from two free throws from Jalen Windham and two free throws from Cochran after a shooting foul and a technical.
The Cardinals continued to extend their lead, reaching as high as 17 points, 77-60, with 10:45 left in regulation.
UMass went on a 14-4 run that ended at 6:19, which allowed the Minutemen to pull within seven, 81-74. UMass managed to pull within one, 87-86, with 32 seconds left in the game.
The Cardinals were unfazed by the comeback. In the remaining 32 seconds, Ball State tightened the defense and made key free throws to secure an 89-86 victory.
Cochran finished with his best performance in a Ball State jersey with 22 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field. Cochran tied with Sparks for the team lead in rebounds with eight. Bumbalough finished with 14 points with a 3-for-4 performance from 3-point range. Windham recorded his third-straight game in double figures with 13 points while shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Pearson has recorded back-to-back games with 12 points as he was the fourth player with double digits. Pearson added the team's only block of the game. Jacobs and Cochran tied for the team lead with four assists. Bumbalough and Cochran each had two steals to lead the team.
As a team, the Cardinals shot 56.3 percent from 3-point range and 50.9 percent from the field. Ball State improved its season average at the free-throw line with an 81.3 percent performance. BSU outrebounded UMass 38-34. The Ball State bench came up big with 31 points to the UMass bench's 21. The Cardinals held a slim 34-32 edge in points in the paint.
The Minutemen were led by Trent Buttrick and CJ Kelly with 19 points each. Rich Kelly and Dyondre Dominguez added 10 points each. TJ Weeks Jr. led UMass with eight rebounds.
With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 2-3 on the year, while the Minutemen fell to 3-3. Ball State returns to Worthen Arena on Saturday, Nov. 27, for an in-state battle with Indiana State. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.
From the Coach – Head Coach James Whitford
"I'm just really, really obviously proud of our guys. We've been playing better each game here and we knew that but it's great to be able to see one here through the finish line and come away with the win against a really good UMass team. I thought we did a much better job in particular on the offensive end in crunch time. We got a lot of really good shots down the stretch, even when we were in a little scoring slump. We were getting the ball at the rim, and you know it's the name of the game - sometimes those shots go, sometimes they don't. I thought (Tyler Cochran) had a great game. You look at the stat line, he had 22 points and eight rebounds and only missed one shot. We took what the defense gave us. Sometimes you match as a team, that's who they are. If you look at it, they don't give up many threes any game they play. I thought we really played together. The one thing we've been doing a great job of is our assists and field goal rates. We're getting a lot of assists collectively as a team, and I think it's a sign of us really sharing the ball and playing together. Tyler is so special. He had 22 tonight, but he could impact the game just as much and score six points."
From the Student-Athlete – Junior Guard #23 Tyler Cochran
"I want to thank my coaches and my teammates. Since I got here, they told me that my ability to drive makes guys collapse and I can kick it out. It was one thing we worked on all summer with them. It gives me the confidence to keep going to the next play. Every game that we play, as coach says, we need to find ourselves a little bit more every game. Today I really feel like we showed a glimpse of how good we could really be and it's not even there yet. We are going to keep going as a team and keep finding ourselves. I really feel great about this year and what we can become."
Follow the Cardinals
*For tickets call 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474, or click here.
Team Stats
BSU
UMASS
FG%
.509
.443
3FG%
.563
.394
FT%
.813
.579
RB
38
34
TO
16
10
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
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