Saturday, December 10
Muncie, Ind.
2 p.m.
Ball State University
6-4,0-0MAC
88
vs
69
Evansville
3-9,0-2MVC
1
2
F
Evansville
28
41
69
Ball St.
42
46
88
Jaylin Sellers finished with a game-high 20 points
Photo by: Samantha Blankenship / Ball State University
Sellers Drops 20 as Ball State Bounces Evansville
December 10, 2022 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – Jaylin Sellers produced his third game of the season with 20 points or more, as he posted a game-high 20 points for Ball State on Saturday. The Cardinals defeated the Evansville Aces 88-69, as four BSU players finished in double figures. Ball State moved to 6-4 overall, while Evansville fell to 3-9.
"This was a good win for us," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "To be back at home for the first time in three weeks after five-consecutive road games, to come back against an in-state opponent, always means something. I'm really pleased with the way we settled into the game with our defense in the first half, we held them to 28 points. I thought it was really good in the second half. It got a little bit away from us in some areas, but it's human nature when you're up 28, you get a little laxed. If we're going to become the program we want and we're working towards being, we've got to continue to play to the standard of Ball State basketball and not the scoreboard. I've been doing this for a long time as an assistant, and you don't ever not celebrate wins. We're really happy with this. We've continued to improve each time we've gone out. Today was a really good home win. The crowd was excellent. I think their energy was good. The students were fantastic and hopefully we can bring them back and continue what we're doing here after finals."
Sellers led the way with 20 points and added four rebounds and an assist. Payton Sparks finished with his fourth double-double in five games. Sparks went for 18 points and brought down a game-high 12 rebounds. He also added an assist and a block. Jarron Coleman tallied 15 points for his ninth-straight contest in double digits. He added four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Basheer Jihad collected 12 points, his first double-digit effort of the season, to go along with a career-high seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Coleman and Mickey Pearson Jr. tied for a game-high two blocks. Coleman along with Demarius Jacobs tied for a game-high three steals.
Evansville opened the game by scoring the game's first three points. The Cardinals answered with the next eight points, including a 3-pointer by Sparks.
The Aces went on a 13-9 run and cut their deficit to 17-16 with 11:25 left in the first half. The Cardinal started to pick up the intensity on the defensive end of the court and the game started to tilt in favor of Ball State. BSU produced an 11-0 run that spanned 5:47 of game time and extended its lead to 28-16. Things did not get any easier for Evansville the remainder of the half as Ball State took a 42-28 lead into the half.
The Cardinals started the second half on a 14-6 run, capped off by an outstanding hustle play by Coleman to save a missed BSU shot from going out of bounds. He jumped in the air over the baseline and threw the ball back to Sellers. Once Coleman reestablished himself inbounds, Sellers kicked it to Coleman for the corner 3-pointer. BSU held a 56-34 lead with 14:30 left in regulation.
Evansville went on an 11-2 run that ended with 12:17 left to play and cut the Ball State lead to 58-45. The Cardinals ramped up the energy and went on a 25-10 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 83-55, with 4:43 left on the clock.
The Aces ended the game on a 14-5 run, but the early Cardinal lead gave BSU the 88-69 victory.
As a team, Ball State shot 31-of-40, 77.5 percent, from the free-throw line. For the season, the Cardinals have made more free throws (180) than BSU opponents have attempted (164). Ball State came into today's contest 19th in the NCAA with an average of 24.0 free throws per game.
The Cardinals' physicality led to 28 points in the paint and 18 second-chance points. Ball State committed fewer turnovers than Evansville, which led to a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers for BSU.
Marvin Coleman led Evansville with 17 points along with three rebounds, three assists, and two rebounds. Kenny Strawbridge finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Antoine Smith Jr. chipped in with a 14-point game and added seven rebounds. Preston Phillips led the Aces with nine rebounds.
The Cardinals make the short trip to Indianapolis for the Indy Classic inside the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 17. Ball State takes on Illinois State with tip at 3:30 p.m.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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"This was a good win for us," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "To be back at home for the first time in three weeks after five-consecutive road games, to come back against an in-state opponent, always means something. I'm really pleased with the way we settled into the game with our defense in the first half, we held them to 28 points. I thought it was really good in the second half. It got a little bit away from us in some areas, but it's human nature when you're up 28, you get a little laxed. If we're going to become the program we want and we're working towards being, we've got to continue to play to the standard of Ball State basketball and not the scoreboard. I've been doing this for a long time as an assistant, and you don't ever not celebrate wins. We're really happy with this. We've continued to improve each time we've gone out. Today was a really good home win. The crowd was excellent. I think their energy was good. The students were fantastic and hopefully we can bring them back and continue what we're doing here after finals."
Sellers led the way with 20 points and added four rebounds and an assist. Payton Sparks finished with his fourth double-double in five games. Sparks went for 18 points and brought down a game-high 12 rebounds. He also added an assist and a block. Jarron Coleman tallied 15 points for his ninth-straight contest in double digits. He added four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Basheer Jihad collected 12 points, his first double-digit effort of the season, to go along with a career-high seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Coleman and Mickey Pearson Jr. tied for a game-high two blocks. Coleman along with Demarius Jacobs tied for a game-high three steals.
Evansville opened the game by scoring the game's first three points. The Cardinals answered with the next eight points, including a 3-pointer by Sparks.
The Aces went on a 13-9 run and cut their deficit to 17-16 with 11:25 left in the first half. The Cardinal started to pick up the intensity on the defensive end of the court and the game started to tilt in favor of Ball State. BSU produced an 11-0 run that spanned 5:47 of game time and extended its lead to 28-16. Things did not get any easier for Evansville the remainder of the half as Ball State took a 42-28 lead into the half.
The Cardinals started the second half on a 14-6 run, capped off by an outstanding hustle play by Coleman to save a missed BSU shot from going out of bounds. He jumped in the air over the baseline and threw the ball back to Sellers. Once Coleman reestablished himself inbounds, Sellers kicked it to Coleman for the corner 3-pointer. BSU held a 56-34 lead with 14:30 left in regulation.
Evansville went on an 11-2 run that ended with 12:17 left to play and cut the Ball State lead to 58-45. The Cardinals ramped up the energy and went on a 25-10 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 83-55, with 4:43 left on the clock.
The Aces ended the game on a 14-5 run, but the early Cardinal lead gave BSU the 88-69 victory.
As a team, Ball State shot 31-of-40, 77.5 percent, from the free-throw line. For the season, the Cardinals have made more free throws (180) than BSU opponents have attempted (164). Ball State came into today's contest 19th in the NCAA with an average of 24.0 free throws per game.
The Cardinals' physicality led to 28 points in the paint and 18 second-chance points. Ball State committed fewer turnovers than Evansville, which led to a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers for BSU.
Marvin Coleman led Evansville with 17 points along with three rebounds, three assists, and two rebounds. Kenny Strawbridge finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Antoine Smith Jr. chipped in with a 14-point game and added seven rebounds. Preston Phillips led the Aces with nine rebounds.
The Cardinals make the short trip to Indianapolis for the Indy Classic inside the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 17. Ball State takes on Illinois State with tip at 3:30 p.m.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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Team Stats
Evans
BSU
FG%
.390
.444
3FG%
.500
.474
FT%
.636
.775
RB
36
40
TO
13
11
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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