Saturday, January 28
DeKalb, Ill.
4:30 p.m. ET
Ball State University
14-7,5-3MAC
87
at
69
Northern Illinois
8-13,4-4MAC
1
2
F
Ball St.
49
38
87
NIU
33
36
69
Photo by: Chad Smith
Cardinals Soar Over Huskies on the Road
January 28, 2023 | Men's Basketball
DEKALB, Ill. – The Ball State men's basketball team returned to action for a Mid-American Conference road matchup with Northern Illinois on Saturday. Jarron Coleman led the team with 20 points and added a game-high six assists, as the Cardinals claimed an 87-69 victory over the Huskies.
The Cardinals ended a two-game skid and improved to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in MAC play. The Huskies fell to 8-13 overall and 4-4 in league play.
"It sounds crazy to say this as a coach, I wasn't too concerned with the result today. I wanted to see us fight, compete, and get some of our edge back," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "I felt if we did that, we would put ourselves in the position to get the result we wanted. I was really pleased with came out in the first half and shared the ball. We had 12 assists on 16 made baskets. That dropped a little bit in the second half. We were doing some different things. We were working some clock and put some guys in situations that we have to handle better. I think we can clean up some areas on how we put teams away."
Coleman led the Cardinals and tied for a game-high 20 points. He added a game-high six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Demarius Jacobs tallied 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Mickey Pearson Jr. finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and one block. Payton Sparks finished with a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points.
The Cardinals started the game hot from 3-point range and took a 12-10 lead with 14:49 left in the first half. Ball State was 3-for-4 from long range. BSU held a 20-17 lead at the second media timeout. Ball State added an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 31-17 with 6:47 left until the break. During that stretch, Sparks recorded a steal and took it the length of the court for the fastbreak slam.
Northern Illinois answered with an 8-3 run and cut the deficit to 34-25 with 4:42 left in the half. The Cardinals were unfazed and went on a 10-1 run, capped off by a Bumbalough 3-pointer.
NIU ended the half on a 7-5 run, but BSU took a 49-33 lead into the break. The Cardinals finished the first half shooting 71.4 percent from 3-point range.
It was a back-and-forth battle for the first five minutes of the second half as the two teams traded baskets. The Cardinals held a 60-46 lead with 14:19 on the clock. Ball State went on a 12-4 run that ended with 9:30 left in the game, as BSU held a 72-50 lead. The 22-point lead was its largest of the game.
NIU responded with an 11-4 run and cut the BSU lead to, 76-61, with 5:47 left in the game. The Cardinals closed out the game outscoring the Huskies, 11-8, to take an 87-69 victory.
David Coit led the Huskies with 20 points and added four assists with two rebounds. Kaleb Thornton recorded 18 points, five rebounds, a team-high five assists, and one steal. Anthony Crump finished in double digits with 12 points and led the team with seven rebounds.
Ball State stays on the road for a matchup with Bowling Green on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Jump is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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The Cardinals ended a two-game skid and improved to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in MAC play. The Huskies fell to 8-13 overall and 4-4 in league play.
"It sounds crazy to say this as a coach, I wasn't too concerned with the result today. I wanted to see us fight, compete, and get some of our edge back," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "I felt if we did that, we would put ourselves in the position to get the result we wanted. I was really pleased with came out in the first half and shared the ball. We had 12 assists on 16 made baskets. That dropped a little bit in the second half. We were doing some different things. We were working some clock and put some guys in situations that we have to handle better. I think we can clean up some areas on how we put teams away."
Coleman led the Cardinals and tied for a game-high 20 points. He added a game-high six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Demarius Jacobs tallied 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Mickey Pearson Jr. finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and one block. Payton Sparks finished with a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points.
The Cardinals started the game hot from 3-point range and took a 12-10 lead with 14:49 left in the first half. Ball State was 3-for-4 from long range. BSU held a 20-17 lead at the second media timeout. Ball State added an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 31-17 with 6:47 left until the break. During that stretch, Sparks recorded a steal and took it the length of the court for the fastbreak slam.
.@PaytonSparks6 with the steal and the fastbreak SLAM??
NIU calls timeout as BSU leads 28-17 with 7:21 left in the first.#ChirpChirp x #WeFly pic.twitter.com/tW1mIuxtSV
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 28, 2023
Northern Illinois answered with an 8-3 run and cut the deficit to 34-25 with 4:42 left in the half. The Cardinals were unfazed and went on a 10-1 run, capped off by a Bumbalough 3-pointer.
NIU ended the half on a 7-5 run, but BSU took a 49-33 lead into the break. The Cardinals finished the first half shooting 71.4 percent from 3-point range.
It was a back-and-forth battle for the first five minutes of the second half as the two teams traded baskets. The Cardinals held a 60-46 lead with 14:19 on the clock. Ball State went on a 12-4 run that ended with 9:30 left in the game, as BSU held a 72-50 lead. The 22-point lead was its largest of the game.
NIU responded with an 11-4 run and cut the BSU lead to, 76-61, with 5:47 left in the game. The Cardinals closed out the game outscoring the Huskies, 11-8, to take an 87-69 victory.
David Coit led the Huskies with 20 points and added four assists with two rebounds. Kaleb Thornton recorded 18 points, five rebounds, a team-high five assists, and one steal. Anthony Crump finished in double digits with 12 points and led the team with seven rebounds.
Ball State stays on the road for a matchup with Bowling Green on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Jump is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
Follow the Cardinals
Team Stats
BSU
NIU
FG%
.463
.469
3FG%
.464
.375
FT%
.545
.700
RB
43
29
TO
9
16
STL
8
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
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