Sunday, November 27
Nassau, The Bahamas
2:30 p.m.
Ball State University
4-3,0-0MAC
65
vs
67
San Jose State
6-2,0-0Mountain West
1
2
F
San Jose St.
31
36
67
Ball St.
24
41
65
Photo by: Chad Smith
Cardinals Fall in Heartbreaker to Spartans on Final Day in The Bahamas
November 27, 2022 | Men's Basketball
NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Ball State men's basketball team closed out the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship with a contest against San Jose State on Sunday. Jalen Windham, Payton Sparks, and Demarius Jacobs all recorded 14 points, but the Cardinals fell on a last-second shot 67-65.
Sparks recorded his second-straight game with a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sparks added a team-high three assists with a block. Jacobs has posted double-digits in seven of the team's eight contests with his 14 points. Jacobs led the team with two blocks to go along with four rebounds and one steal. Windham notched his sixth game in double figures with his 14 points. Windham added a rebound and an assist. Jarron Coleman finished the game with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
The game started as a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to extend a lead more than three points. With 14:20 left in the half, San Jose State held a 9-6 lead, but Ball State bounced back and took a 12-11 lead with 11:04 left until the break.
The contest continued to be close as neither team was able to get lead of more than four points, until the Spartans managed to take an eight-point lead, 26-18, with 2:40 left in the half. The Cardinals were able to cut the deficit to seven, 31-24, at the half.
After San Jose State scored the second half's first bucket and extended its lead to nine, 33-24, Ball State clawed back. BSU went on a 7-0 run and pulled within two, 33-31. The Spartans were able to gain a five-point lead on several occasions. The Cardinals continued to battle and were able to take a 43-42 lead with 12:45 left in regulation.
San Jose State managed to take a six-point lead with 10:20 left on the clock. Like earlier in the game, the Cardinals were resilient and regained the lead, 55-54, with just under six minutes left in regulation. The teams traded the lead four more times, before Ball State was able to take a three-point lead, 63-60, with just under three minutes to play.
With just 18 seconds left on the clock, Robert Vaihola gave the Spartans a two-point lead, 65-63. The Cardinals advanced the ball to half court before calling a timeout with 13 seconds left to play. Head Coach Michael Lewis drew up the perfect play coming out of the timeout. Jaylin Sellers was able to get open driving to the hoop and was fouled as he went up for a layup. Sellers had ice in his veins and knocked down both free throws to tie the game, 65-65, with eight seconds to play. Vaihola was able to make a layup off an offensive rebound to give San Jose State a 67-65 lead with 1.8 left in regulation. The Cardinals tried to get a last-second shot up, but the full-court pass was intercepted and time expired.
"Rebounding was the difference," said Coach Lewis. "In reality, this is a great opportunity for us. We had an opportunity to play them on a true neutral court. I thought we competed. I thought we did a lot of really good things defensively. Their physical size, athleticism, and depth frustrated us at finishing at the rim in the first half. We had some big boy finishes in the second half. Our defense was good enough to win. Our offense executed well enough in the second half, but you can't give up 16 second-chance points. I'm not happy with two losses, trust me. I think we took a huge step in our toughness, our grittiness, and our willingness to compete. I think that was a big step. We had Basheer Jihad diving on the floor. We're rotating, contesting, guys are in a stance. This is going to be a tough one to swallow. Our guys played their butts off."
Vaihola and Omari Moore tied for a game-high 15 points for the Spartans. Vaihola led the team with eight rebounds, while Moore led the squad with five assists. Trey Anderson added 11 points, while Alvaro Cardenas and Ibrahima Diallo eached chipped in with 10 points.
Ball State returns to the court on Saturday, Dec. 3, for a road test at Duquesne. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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Sparks recorded his second-straight game with a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sparks added a team-high three assists with a block. Jacobs has posted double-digits in seven of the team's eight contests with his 14 points. Jacobs led the team with two blocks to go along with four rebounds and one steal. Windham notched his sixth game in double figures with his 14 points. Windham added a rebound and an assist. Jarron Coleman finished the game with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
The game started as a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to extend a lead more than three points. With 14:20 left in the half, San Jose State held a 9-6 lead, but Ball State bounced back and took a 12-11 lead with 11:04 left until the break.
The contest continued to be close as neither team was able to get lead of more than four points, until the Spartans managed to take an eight-point lead, 26-18, with 2:40 left in the half. The Cardinals were able to cut the deficit to seven, 31-24, at the half.
After San Jose State scored the second half's first bucket and extended its lead to nine, 33-24, Ball State clawed back. BSU went on a 7-0 run and pulled within two, 33-31. The Spartans were able to gain a five-point lead on several occasions. The Cardinals continued to battle and were able to take a 43-42 lead with 12:45 left in regulation.
San Jose State managed to take a six-point lead with 10:20 left on the clock. Like earlier in the game, the Cardinals were resilient and regained the lead, 55-54, with just under six minutes left in regulation. The teams traded the lead four more times, before Ball State was able to take a three-point lead, 63-60, with just under three minutes to play.
With just 18 seconds left on the clock, Robert Vaihola gave the Spartans a two-point lead, 65-63. The Cardinals advanced the ball to half court before calling a timeout with 13 seconds left to play. Head Coach Michael Lewis drew up the perfect play coming out of the timeout. Jaylin Sellers was able to get open driving to the hoop and was fouled as he went up for a layup. Sellers had ice in his veins and knocked down both free throws to tie the game, 65-65, with eight seconds to play. Vaihola was able to make a layup off an offensive rebound to give San Jose State a 67-65 lead with 1.8 left in regulation. The Cardinals tried to get a last-second shot up, but the full-court pass was intercepted and time expired.
"Rebounding was the difference," said Coach Lewis. "In reality, this is a great opportunity for us. We had an opportunity to play them on a true neutral court. I thought we competed. I thought we did a lot of really good things defensively. Their physical size, athleticism, and depth frustrated us at finishing at the rim in the first half. We had some big boy finishes in the second half. Our defense was good enough to win. Our offense executed well enough in the second half, but you can't give up 16 second-chance points. I'm not happy with two losses, trust me. I think we took a huge step in our toughness, our grittiness, and our willingness to compete. I think that was a big step. We had Basheer Jihad diving on the floor. We're rotating, contesting, guys are in a stance. This is going to be a tough one to swallow. Our guys played their butts off."
Vaihola and Omari Moore tied for a game-high 15 points for the Spartans. Vaihola led the team with eight rebounds, while Moore led the squad with five assists. Trey Anderson added 11 points, while Alvaro Cardenas and Ibrahima Diallo eached chipped in with 10 points.
Ball State returns to the court on Saturday, Dec. 3, for a road test at Duquesne. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
Follow the Cardinals
Team Stats
SJSU
BSU
FG%
.463
.377
3FG%
.316
.235
FT%
.786
.750
RB
37
27
TO
13
7
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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