Friday, November 25
Nassau, The Bahamas
Noon
Ball State University
73
vs
78
Vermont
Photo by: Chad Smith
Ball State Drops Tough One to Vermont in Baha Mar Hoops Opener
November 25, 2022 | Men's Basketball
NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Ball State men's basketball team opened the Baha Mar Nassau Championship against Vermont on Friday. The Cardinals were led by Jaylin Sellers with a career-high 21 points, but BSU fell to UV 78-73.
Sellers recorded a career high in points in back-to-back games for the Cardinals. Sellers produced a game-high 21 points along with five rebounds and one assist. Jalen Windham finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Payton Sparks added 11 points as well as a game-high seven rebounds. Sparks notched four assists. Jarron Coleman rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points with a game-high six assists. Coleman collected four rebounds and four steals. Demarius Jacobs finished with a career-high four blocks and chipped in with nine points.
The game started as a back-and-forth battle which saw a tied score, 6-6, with 15:18 left in the half. The Catamounts were able to stretch out to a 20-13 lead with 10:48 left, but the Cardinals battled back and cut the deficit to three, 20-17, with 9:22 left.
Vermont saw its biggest lead of 13, 34-21, with 5:14 left in the first stanza. Ball State responded with an 11-0 run, the largest run of the game, and cut the deficit to just two, 34-32, with 2:27 left until half. The Catamounts took a 36-32 lead into halftime.
The Cardinals came out strong in the second half and went on a 9-5 run to tie the game 41-41 with just under 17 minutes left in regulation. The series continued as the Catamounts went on an 8-2 run and gained a 50-41 advantage with 15:26 left in the game. Ball State was able to cut the lead to four, 52-48, before Vermont managed to take a 59-48 lead with just over 12 minutes left.
Ball State did not go down without a fight. The Cardinals cut the deficit to 67-63 with 4:52 to play. Vermont was able to extend its lead to nine, 74-65, with just over two minutes left in the game. The Cardinals continued to fight as they cut the deficit to four on multiple occasions but fell 78-73.
Aaron Deloney led the Catamounts with 20 points and added a team-high seven rebounds. Kam Gibson finished the game with 19 points and brought down three rebounds. Dylan Penn closed out the double-digit scoring with 14 points.
"First of all, that's a heck of a college program in Vermont," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "I told John before the game that I want opposing coaches when they flip open their laptop in a few years, to feel the way about our program the way I feel about his. They've won 26 games a year his entire time and it is as respected a mid-major there is in the country. They are the sixth most successful team in the last six years. In saying that, we went toe-to-toe with them. I'm proud of our effort. We still have to clean up some plays. Just basketball smarts that you have to learn, but you don't learn those things until you're thrown in the fire. We had an opportunity in the first half to fold, but they fought back. We had an opportunity in the second half to fold and we responded. I saw some progress from our guys. We came down here for a reason. We came down here to learn about our program. We learned some things today that I really like."
The Cardinals return to action on Saturday, Nov. 26, for their second of three games in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. Ball State will face Missouri State/UNCW with tip coming at noon.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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Sellers recorded a career high in points in back-to-back games for the Cardinals. Sellers produced a game-high 21 points along with five rebounds and one assist. Jalen Windham finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Payton Sparks added 11 points as well as a game-high seven rebounds. Sparks notched four assists. Jarron Coleman rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points with a game-high six assists. Coleman collected four rebounds and four steals. Demarius Jacobs finished with a career-high four blocks and chipped in with nine points.
The game started as a back-and-forth battle which saw a tied score, 6-6, with 15:18 left in the half. The Catamounts were able to stretch out to a 20-13 lead with 10:48 left, but the Cardinals battled back and cut the deficit to three, 20-17, with 9:22 left.
Vermont saw its biggest lead of 13, 34-21, with 5:14 left in the first stanza. Ball State responded with an 11-0 run, the largest run of the game, and cut the deficit to just two, 34-32, with 2:27 left until half. The Catamounts took a 36-32 lead into halftime.
The Cardinals came out strong in the second half and went on a 9-5 run to tie the game 41-41 with just under 17 minutes left in regulation. The series continued as the Catamounts went on an 8-2 run and gained a 50-41 advantage with 15:26 left in the game. Ball State was able to cut the lead to four, 52-48, before Vermont managed to take a 59-48 lead with just over 12 minutes left.
Ball State did not go down without a fight. The Cardinals cut the deficit to 67-63 with 4:52 to play. Vermont was able to extend its lead to nine, 74-65, with just over two minutes left in the game. The Cardinals continued to fight as they cut the deficit to four on multiple occasions but fell 78-73.
Aaron Deloney led the Catamounts with 20 points and added a team-high seven rebounds. Kam Gibson finished the game with 19 points and brought down three rebounds. Dylan Penn closed out the double-digit scoring with 14 points.
"First of all, that's a heck of a college program in Vermont," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "I told John before the game that I want opposing coaches when they flip open their laptop in a few years, to feel the way about our program the way I feel about his. They've won 26 games a year his entire time and it is as respected a mid-major there is in the country. They are the sixth most successful team in the last six years. In saying that, we went toe-to-toe with them. I'm proud of our effort. We still have to clean up some plays. Just basketball smarts that you have to learn, but you don't learn those things until you're thrown in the fire. We had an opportunity in the first half to fold, but they fought back. We had an opportunity in the second half to fold and we responded. I saw some progress from our guys. We came down here for a reason. We came down here to learn about our program. We learned some things today that I really like."
The Cardinals return to action on Saturday, Nov. 26, for their second of three games in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. Ball State will face Missouri State/UNCW with tip coming at noon.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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