Tuesday, February 15
Muncie, Ind.
7 p.m.
Ball State University
11-14,6-8MAC
58
vs
64
Northern Illinois
7-16,4-9MAC
1
2
F
Northern Ill.
27
37
64
Ball St.
27
31
58
Photo by: BSU Photo Services
Cardinals Drop One to Huskies to Split Season Matchups
February 15, 2022 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State (11-14, 6-8 MAC) men's basketball team fell in a tough one inside Worthen Arena against Northern Illinois (7-16, 4-9 MAC) 64-58 on Tuesday. Payton Sparks led the Cardinals with 16 points.
Sparks recorded his 15th-straight game in double figures with his 16 points. He added eight rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. Miryne Thomas posted 11 points, for his ninth double-digit performance in 11 games. Thomas added a career-high three blocks, which is the most by any Cardinal this season, and added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Demarius Jacobs finished with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Tyler Cochran brought down a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with six points, two assists, and a steal. Luke Bumbalough and Jaylin Sellers tied for a team-high three assists.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle as neither team saw a lead of more than five points. Ball State's largest lead of five points came at 13:24 with the score at 11-6. The Huskies held a 27-24 lead with just 1:35 remaining in the first stanza, which was their largest of the half. The score was tied at 27-27 at the break. The score was not the only thing tied at the half, as the Cardinals and Huskies both shot 36.0 percent from the field.
NIU started the second half on a 13-6 run and held a 40-33 lead with 13:29 left in regulation. BSU was able to cut the deficit to three, 40-37, with 12:48 left on the clock. The Huskies answered with an 8-2 run and extended their lead to nine, 48-39, the largest of the game, with 9:37 left in the game. The Cardinals were able to pull within four, 59-55, with just under a minute left in the game. The Ball State defense came up with multiple turnovers under its basket but could not get shots to fall. NIU went on to win the contest 64-58.
The Cardinals came into tonight's contest leading the MAC in 3-point percentage, but unfortunately tonight BSU was a little cold from behind the arc and shot just 13.3 percent. As a team, Ball State outscored Northern Illinois in fast-break points (13-9), points off turnovers (12-10), points in the paint (32-22), and second-chance points (9-5). The Cardinal defense forced the Huskies to turn the ball over 22 times, which is the best mark of the season for the Cardinals.
Trendon Hankerson and Keshawn Williams tied for a game-high 19 points for NIU. Hankerson added a game-high four steals with five rebounds. Williams added five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Chinedu Kingsley Okanu closed out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. Adong Makuoi and Darweshi Hunter tied for a team-high seven rebounds each. Kaleb Thornton dished out a game-high five assists.
The Cardinals return to action on Saturday as they travel to Bowling Green, Ohio for a matchup with the Falcons. Tip is slated for 5 p.m.
From the Coach – Head Coach James Whitford
"I said to the team in the locker room, I said two things. One, adversity reveals character. It's an old saying, but it's true in sports and it's true in anything else. A week and a half ago we had just beaten Toledo and felt like a million bucks and were moving in the right direction. We've hit a little spell here and we're going to get tested and we have to make sure we pass that test. My second point was it wasn't lack of effort and it wasn't like we were coming apart at the seams, we didn't play well and that happens. We couldn't get a basket to go in, but I thought we competed, and I thought we fought. We did not play well, and we especially did not play well on the offensive end, and it wasn't for lack of effort or lack of trying, they were trying their tails off."
From the Student-Athlete – Redshirt Junior Forward #0 Miryne Thomas
"When we get into positions like tonight, we try to get the ball moving from side-to-side and get paint touches. We know that Payton is a beast down low, so we try to look for him. When we get in scoring droughts, we try to get the ball in the paint and play in-to-out. Usually we are hot in Worthen, but tonight we had a winter snowstorm (talking about the 13.3 percent from 3-point range). We were just cold. We need to get back into the gym and get more reps. We need to get back to connecting on the court. I believe in our team. I believe coming down the stretch we'll be better."
From the Student-Athlete – Freshman Center #5 Payton Sparks
"We need to keep being together. It's a tough stretch of games right now, but we'll figure it out. We came together after the loss at Toledo. We worked on what we needed to work on, and we took that to the game. We kept on improving every game and that's what we need to do again. I think we got good shots. I just don't think we were finishing. It's going to happen from game-to-game. We just have to move on and keep our heads up."
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*For tickets call 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474, or click here.
Sparks recorded his 15th-straight game in double figures with his 16 points. He added eight rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. Miryne Thomas posted 11 points, for his ninth double-digit performance in 11 games. Thomas added a career-high three blocks, which is the most by any Cardinal this season, and added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Demarius Jacobs finished with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Tyler Cochran brought down a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with six points, two assists, and a steal. Luke Bumbalough and Jaylin Sellers tied for a team-high three assists.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle as neither team saw a lead of more than five points. Ball State's largest lead of five points came at 13:24 with the score at 11-6. The Huskies held a 27-24 lead with just 1:35 remaining in the first stanza, which was their largest of the half. The score was tied at 27-27 at the break. The score was not the only thing tied at the half, as the Cardinals and Huskies both shot 36.0 percent from the field.
NIU started the second half on a 13-6 run and held a 40-33 lead with 13:29 left in regulation. BSU was able to cut the deficit to three, 40-37, with 12:48 left on the clock. The Huskies answered with an 8-2 run and extended their lead to nine, 48-39, the largest of the game, with 9:37 left in the game. The Cardinals were able to pull within four, 59-55, with just under a minute left in the game. The Ball State defense came up with multiple turnovers under its basket but could not get shots to fall. NIU went on to win the contest 64-58.
The Cardinals came into tonight's contest leading the MAC in 3-point percentage, but unfortunately tonight BSU was a little cold from behind the arc and shot just 13.3 percent. As a team, Ball State outscored Northern Illinois in fast-break points (13-9), points off turnovers (12-10), points in the paint (32-22), and second-chance points (9-5). The Cardinal defense forced the Huskies to turn the ball over 22 times, which is the best mark of the season for the Cardinals.
Trendon Hankerson and Keshawn Williams tied for a game-high 19 points for NIU. Hankerson added a game-high four steals with five rebounds. Williams added five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Chinedu Kingsley Okanu closed out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. Adong Makuoi and Darweshi Hunter tied for a team-high seven rebounds each. Kaleb Thornton dished out a game-high five assists.
The Cardinals return to action on Saturday as they travel to Bowling Green, Ohio for a matchup with the Falcons. Tip is slated for 5 p.m.
From the Coach – Head Coach James Whitford
"I said to the team in the locker room, I said two things. One, adversity reveals character. It's an old saying, but it's true in sports and it's true in anything else. A week and a half ago we had just beaten Toledo and felt like a million bucks and were moving in the right direction. We've hit a little spell here and we're going to get tested and we have to make sure we pass that test. My second point was it wasn't lack of effort and it wasn't like we were coming apart at the seams, we didn't play well and that happens. We couldn't get a basket to go in, but I thought we competed, and I thought we fought. We did not play well, and we especially did not play well on the offensive end, and it wasn't for lack of effort or lack of trying, they were trying their tails off."
From the Student-Athlete – Redshirt Junior Forward #0 Miryne Thomas
"When we get into positions like tonight, we try to get the ball moving from side-to-side and get paint touches. We know that Payton is a beast down low, so we try to look for him. When we get in scoring droughts, we try to get the ball in the paint and play in-to-out. Usually we are hot in Worthen, but tonight we had a winter snowstorm (talking about the 13.3 percent from 3-point range). We were just cold. We need to get back into the gym and get more reps. We need to get back to connecting on the court. I believe in our team. I believe coming down the stretch we'll be better."
From the Student-Athlete – Freshman Center #5 Payton Sparks
"We need to keep being together. It's a tough stretch of games right now, but we'll figure it out. We came together after the loss at Toledo. We worked on what we needed to work on, and we took that to the game. We kept on improving every game and that's what we need to do again. I think we got good shots. I just don't think we were finishing. It's going to happen from game-to-game. We just have to move on and keep our heads up."
Follow the Cardinals
*For tickets call 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474, or click here.
Team Stats
NIU
BSU
FG%
.426
.352
3FG%
.389
.133
FT%
.708
.667
RB
37
31
TO
22
14
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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