Saturday, December 17
Indianapolis, Ind.
3:30 p.m.
Ball State University
7-4,0-0MAC
83
vs
69
Illinois State
5-7,1-1MVC
1
2
F
Illinois St.
34
35
69
Ball St.
41
42
83
Jaylin Sellers finished with a career-high 24 points
Photo by: Chad Smith
Sellers Records a Career-High as Cardinals Fly High Over Redbirds
December 17, 2022 | Men's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS – Jaylin Sellers scored 20 or more points for the fourth time in three games as he produced a career-high 24 points to lead all scorers as Ball State men's basketball defeated Illinois State in the inaugural Indy Classic inside of the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Cardinals finished the game with five players in double figures as they claimed an 83-69 victory.
Ball State improved to 7-4 on the year, while Illinois State fell to 5-7 on the season. The Cardinals took a slight 12-11 lead in the overall series with the Redbirds.
"First of all, I want to thank Indy Sports Corp for having us in this event," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "It was first class event from top to bottom. Ball State was really honored to be part of it. It was a really good win for us. I have a lot of respect for Ryan (Pedon), obviously with both of us working at Butler and being in a similar position. Watching tape of them, I saw them get better each and every game. I thought we took control of the game early in the second half once we decided to block out and have effort on that end. They really hit us on the boards in the first half. Offensively, I thought we were really efficient the entire night. That's a credit to our guys and their versatility, and guys made plays. We have to continue to grow as a team on the defensive end. If we do that, I think we have a chance to be competitive in most games."
BSU has had five players finish in double-digit points in three of the last four games. Sellers dropped a game-high 24 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Jarron Coleman has scored in double figures for 10 straight as he notched a 16-point effort. He produced a game-high seven assists along with five rebounds, one steal, and one block. Demarius Jacobs collected 16 points, five assists, three rebounds, and one steal. His three blocks tied a career high and were a game high. Jacobs has scored in double figures in nine games this season. Mickey Pearson Jr. tallied 13 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block. Payton Sparks closed out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. He added a team-high six rebounds and one assist.
The Cardinals started the game hot and went on a 7-2 run that ended with 17:42 left in the half. The Redbirds answered with an 8-0 run and took a 10-7 lead with 14:40 left. Ball State was unfazed by the Illinois State run and outscored ISU 18-9 over the next 5:56 to go on top, 25-19 with just under eight minutes to play in the half.
Illinois State was able to tie the game 25-25 with 5:45 left in the first. The two sides battled back-and-forth as the game was tied 34-34 with just under two minutes left in the half. Jacobs buried a wide-open 3-pointer to put the Cardinals on top. Jacob's 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 run for Ball State as BSU took a 41-34 lead into the break.
The Redbirds opened the second half on an 11-7 run and cut the Cardinal lead to 48-45 with 15:04 left in regulation. Ball State was resilient and responded with a 16-6 run and extended its lead to 64-51 with 10:21 left to play.
With the Cardinals up 11, 66-55, Jacobs made a great play to beat a defender and score on a driving layup. He was fouled and converted the and-1 to put BSU up 69-55.
Ball State continued to roll. With under two minutes left to play, Jacobs came up with a big block in transition which led to an uncontested fast-break dunk for Coleman. The dunk gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the night with 18, 83-65.
Illinois State scored the game's final four points, but Ball State went on to win 83-69.
As a unit, the Cardinals finished the game shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. Ball State improved its free-throw shooting as BSU went 70 percent (14-20) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals combined for 46 points in the paint. The eight blocked shots were the second most this season. Ball State continues to make more free throws (14) than opponents take (13).
Malachi Poindexter led ISU with 14 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Kendall Lewis and Darius Burford both went for 13 points. Lewis led the team with seven rebounds and two steals. Burford added five rebounds and a block. Colton Sandage closed out the double-digit scorers with 11.
The Cardinals return to Worthen Arena for contest with Georgia Southern. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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Ball State improved to 7-4 on the year, while Illinois State fell to 5-7 on the season. The Cardinals took a slight 12-11 lead in the overall series with the Redbirds.
"First of all, I want to thank Indy Sports Corp for having us in this event," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "It was first class event from top to bottom. Ball State was really honored to be part of it. It was a really good win for us. I have a lot of respect for Ryan (Pedon), obviously with both of us working at Butler and being in a similar position. Watching tape of them, I saw them get better each and every game. I thought we took control of the game early in the second half once we decided to block out and have effort on that end. They really hit us on the boards in the first half. Offensively, I thought we were really efficient the entire night. That's a credit to our guys and their versatility, and guys made plays. We have to continue to grow as a team on the defensive end. If we do that, I think we have a chance to be competitive in most games."
BSU has had five players finish in double-digit points in three of the last four games. Sellers dropped a game-high 24 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Jarron Coleman has scored in double figures for 10 straight as he notched a 16-point effort. He produced a game-high seven assists along with five rebounds, one steal, and one block. Demarius Jacobs collected 16 points, five assists, three rebounds, and one steal. His three blocks tied a career high and were a game high. Jacobs has scored in double figures in nine games this season. Mickey Pearson Jr. tallied 13 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block. Payton Sparks closed out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. He added a team-high six rebounds and one assist.
The Cardinals started the game hot and went on a 7-2 run that ended with 17:42 left in the half. The Redbirds answered with an 8-0 run and took a 10-7 lead with 14:40 left. Ball State was unfazed by the Illinois State run and outscored ISU 18-9 over the next 5:56 to go on top, 25-19 with just under eight minutes to play in the half.
Illinois State was able to tie the game 25-25 with 5:45 left in the first. The two sides battled back-and-forth as the game was tied 34-34 with just under two minutes left in the half. Jacobs buried a wide-open 3-pointer to put the Cardinals on top. Jacob's 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 run for Ball State as BSU took a 41-34 lead into the break.
.@JaylinSellers finds a wide-open @_Demariusjacobs for 3?. Ball State leads 37-34 with 1:13 left in the first half.#ChirpChirp x #WeFly x @GainbridgeLife pic.twitter.com/H6N7a4r6xb— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 17, 2022
The Redbirds opened the second half on an 11-7 run and cut the Cardinal lead to 48-45 with 15:04 left in regulation. Ball State was resilient and responded with a 16-6 run and extended its lead to 64-51 with 10:21 left to play.
With the Cardinals up 11, 66-55, Jacobs made a great play to beat a defender and score on a driving layup. He was fouled and converted the and-1 to put BSU up 69-55.
.@_Demariusjacobs with the driving layup and draws the foul!! #ChirpChirp x #WeFly x @GainbridgeLife pic.twitter.com/q3EYaMHRJV— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 17, 2022
Ball State continued to roll. With under two minutes left to play, Jacobs came up with a big block in transition which led to an uncontested fast-break dunk for Coleman. The dunk gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the night with 18, 83-65.
.@_Demariusjacobs with the block and the pass to @jarron_coleman for the slam!!!#ChirpChirp x #WeFly x @GainbridgeLife pic.twitter.com/53VVgPNL9T— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 17, 2022
Illinois State scored the game's final four points, but Ball State went on to win 83-69.
As a unit, the Cardinals finished the game shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. Ball State improved its free-throw shooting as BSU went 70 percent (14-20) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals combined for 46 points in the paint. The eight blocked shots were the second most this season. Ball State continues to make more free throws (14) than opponents take (13).
Malachi Poindexter led ISU with 14 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Kendall Lewis and Darius Burford both went for 13 points. Lewis led the team with seven rebounds and two steals. Burford added five rebounds and a block. Colton Sandage closed out the double-digit scorers with 11.
The Cardinals return to Worthen Arena for contest with Georgia Southern. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
Follow the Cardinals
Team Stats
ILS
BSU
FG%
.418
.564
3FG%
.333
.467
FT%
.538
.700
RB
36
28
TO
12
12
STL
9
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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