Tuesday, November 14
Muncie, IN
7:00 p.m.
Ball State University
3-0,0-0MAC
92
vs
51
Oakland City
0-2
1
2
F
Oakland City
20
31
51
Ball St.
41
51
92
Men's Basketball out to First 3-0 Start Since 1997 with Win over Oakland City
November 14, 2023 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team overcame a sluggish start to beat Oakland City 92-51 on Tuesday night at Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals began the season with a 3-0 record for the first time since the Bonzi Wells-led team in 1997.
The visiting Mighty Oaks got out to a 9-3 lead less than four minutes into the game led by junior Sam Muller, who led them with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the game. Ball State, however, responded with an 18-0 run over the next 8:12 to build a 21-9 lead and would hold a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest, going into halftime up 41-20.
Jalin Anderson (20 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals) went for his second straight 20+ point performance after scoring 29 in Saturday's win over Old Dominion. Mickey Pearson Jr. (12 points), Joey Brown (11 points, seven rebounds) and Trent Middleton Jr. (11 points, four rebounds), also contributed double figures for the Cardinals offense, while Davion Bailey and Basheer Jihad added nine points each.
Muller was the only Mighty Oak in double digits, as Drake Moore added eight points and eight rebounds for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics member Oakland City. Ball State controlled the possessions battle in both turnovers (22-4) and rebounds (42-29) to get up 16 more field goal attempts and 16 more free throw attempts than the visitors. Ball State shot 50.8 percent (33-65) from the field but only 18.8 percent (3-16) from 3-point range.
This concludes the season-opening three-game homestand for the Cardinals, and they will travel to Evansville for a 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) battle on Saturday against the Purple Aces at the Ford Center.
With the win, the Cardinals began the season with a 3-0 record for the first time since the Bonzi Wells-led team in 1997.
The visiting Mighty Oaks got out to a 9-3 lead less than four minutes into the game led by junior Sam Muller, who led them with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the game. Ball State, however, responded with an 18-0 run over the next 8:12 to build a 21-9 lead and would hold a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest, going into halftime up 41-20.
Jalin Anderson (20 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals) went for his second straight 20+ point performance after scoring 29 in Saturday's win over Old Dominion. Mickey Pearson Jr. (12 points), Joey Brown (11 points, seven rebounds) and Trent Middleton Jr. (11 points, four rebounds), also contributed double figures for the Cardinals offense, while Davion Bailey and Basheer Jihad added nine points each.
Muller was the only Mighty Oak in double digits, as Drake Moore added eight points and eight rebounds for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics member Oakland City. Ball State controlled the possessions battle in both turnovers (22-4) and rebounds (42-29) to get up 16 more field goal attempts and 16 more free throw attempts than the visitors. Ball State shot 50.8 percent (33-65) from the field but only 18.8 percent (3-16) from 3-point range.
This concludes the season-opening three-game homestand for the Cardinals, and they will travel to Evansville for a 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) battle on Saturday against the Purple Aces at the Ford Center.
Team Stats
M-506545
M-47
FG%
.388
.508
3FG%
.235
.188
FT%
.529
.697
RB
29
42
TO
22
4
STL
3
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
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