Cardinals Tame Cougars in 85-58 Victory

Sunday, December 12

Muncie, Ind.

1 p.m.

Ball State University

4-5,0-0MAC

IU Kokomo

0-1

Team	1	2	F
Ind.-Kokomo	30	28	58
Ball State	53	32	85

Photo by: BSU Photo Services

December 12, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Chad Smith

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team returned to the friendly confines of Worthen Arena on Sunday as IU Kokomo came to town. The Cardinals ended a two-game skid with an 85-58 victory. BSU was led by Tyler Cochran with 19 points as the Cardinals recorded four players in double digits.

With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 4-5 on the year, while the Cougars fell to 12-3 on the season.

Cochran led the way with 19 points and added a game-high two steals to go along with his two rebounds and two assists. Cochran has now scored in double figures in four of the last five games. Miryne Thomas posted a 13-point performance and chipped in with three rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. Luke Bumbalough added 12 points, tied for a team-high five assists and one steal. Bumbalough has now scored in double figures in six straight contests. Payton Sparks was the final player in double digits with 12. He led the team with a game-high seven rebounds, tied for the team lead with five assists and had the team's only other block.

After the teams traded 3-point baskets to start the game, Ball State went on a 7-2 run and took a 10-5 advantage early in the first half. The Cougars managed to come back and tie the game at 15-15 with 15:02 left in the first half.

The Cardinals started to pick up the intensity and went on a 7-3 run and regained the lead, 22-15. After a jumper by IU Kokomo, Ball State went on an 11-4 run. During the run, Jalen Windham came up big with three 3-pointers. Ball State was able to extend its lead to 43-27 after a 10-6 run, where five different players scored two points each.

The stifling Cardinal defense held the Cougars to just five points in the final five minutes in the first half. Ball State took a 53-40 lead into the break.

The BSU defense picked up where it left on in the first half, as Thomas blocked the first shot of the second half. Sparks and Thomas combined for seven points, four and three respectively, as Ball State opened the second on a 7-0 run and extended its lead to 30, 60-30.

The Cougars scored four unanswered and made the score 60-34, in favor of the Cardinals. BSU responded with a 15-6 run that lasted 7:05. BSU held a 75-40 lead with 9:14 left in regulation. During the run, Sparks came up big on the defensive end with an emphatic rejection. With 7:53 left in the game, Bumbalough drained a 3-pointer which gave Ball State a 36-point lead, 78-42, the largest of the game.

IU Kokomo scored the game's next eight points, led by Trequan Spivey with two 3-pointers.

Mickey Pearson Jr. ended the scoring drought for the Cardinals with a 3-ball and put BSU on top, 81-50, with 4:38 left in the contest.

The Cougars ended the game outscoring the Cardinals 6-4 in the final two minutes, but Ball State went on to win comfortably, 85-58.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field on 33-of-66 and 12-of-28 from behind the arc for 44.4 percent. The stingy Cardinal defense held the Cougars to 26.3 percent from 3-point range. BSU forced 15 turnovers and capitalized with 27 points off those turnovers. Ball State held a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint. The Cardinals bench outscored the Cougars bench, 24-10. BSU finished the game with 11 of the 13 players scoring points.

Spivey led IU Kokomo with a game-high 21 points. He added four rebounds and three assists. Dorian Porch added a double-digit performance with 10. Zach Rinehart brought down a game-high nine rebounds.

Ball State takes to the road for a contest in Normal, Illinois, as the Cardinals are set to battle Illinois State on Saturday, Dec. 18. The tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.

From the Coach – Head Coach James Whitford
"I thought our guys played a good game. We had a lot of respect for IU Kokomo. Any team that is 12-2, is 12-2 for a reason. I thought they were really well coached. I really respected them coming in, watching their game film. I thought our guys played the right way. We played really unselfishly on offense, 19 assists and 11 turnovers, spoke for the way we played. Tyler (Cochran) did a really good as a point guard. I thought Miryne (Thomas) really looked like a leader out there. He did a really good job of feeding Payton (Sparks). He played the game the right way and took what came to him. It was good to get a game that wasn't as tough. It's good to be able to reset, but I don't care who you play it's all about getting better and playing the right way."

From the Student-Athletes – Redshirt Senior Forward #0 Miryne Thomas
"It was something we talked about as a group, within the players. As a leader, I told the team the last time we put our jerseys on we got kicked in the mouth and tonight it's time for us to be the ones kicking. It was just something we brought up to bring the right intensity into the game. As a team, we say the go to man is the open man. We try to key on having good possessions down the stretch."

From the Student-Athletes – Junior Guard #23 Tyler Cochran
"We always come into the game with the mentality of how we can get our team better. Sometimes you see it breakdown, but we're still trying to figure out how to flow as a team. We just need to make the best of the offensive possession each time down the court. With this team, everybody loves to share the ball, everybody is looking for each other, and hopefully after this game we continue to pick it up."

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