Saturday, November 18
Evansville, IN
2:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. CT
Ball State University
3-1,0-0MAC
50
at
74
Evansville
4-0,0-0MVC
1
2
F
Ball St.
27
23
50
Evansville
30
44
74
Photo by: Josh Brunette
Sluggish Second Half Dooms Men's Basketball at Evansville
November 18, 2023 | Men's Basketball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trailing 30-27 going into the halftime break, the Ball State men's basketball team went scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half, allowing host Evansville to build a 47-27 lead and cruise to a 74-50 win Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.
The Cardinals (3-1) got 21 points and eight rebounds from Basheer Jihad, but were plagued by turnovers, as the Purple Aces (4-0) won the turnover (18-9) and points off turnovers battles (21-5) decisively in Ball State's first road game of the season.
Evansville's balanced scoring attack featured 13 points by Kenny Strawbridge and 12 each by Ben Humrichous and Joshua Hughes. The Aces led for 35 minutes of the game, outrebounded the Cardinals 39-31 and shot 45.8 percent (27-59) in their fourth straight victory.
Ball State led 9-7 after a Mason Jones 3-pointer at the 14:17 mark of the first half, but that would be the visitors' final edge. Jihad hit a layup in the closing seconds of the opening period to get the Cardinals within three points at intermission.
Also contributing in the Ball State lineup were junior Davion Bailey (seven points, five rebounds) and freshman Trent Middleton Jr. (six points, three rebounds). In addition to the troubles holding onto the ball, the Cardinals struggled shooting (31.4 percent from the field), leading to losses in the points in the paint (42-20) and fast break points (17-0) categories.
Ball State returns home to host USC Upstate at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in its first game of the Midwest Madness: Cardinal Classic.
The Cardinals (3-1) got 21 points and eight rebounds from Basheer Jihad, but were plagued by turnovers, as the Purple Aces (4-0) won the turnover (18-9) and points off turnovers battles (21-5) decisively in Ball State's first road game of the season.
Evansville's balanced scoring attack featured 13 points by Kenny Strawbridge and 12 each by Ben Humrichous and Joshua Hughes. The Aces led for 35 minutes of the game, outrebounded the Cardinals 39-31 and shot 45.8 percent (27-59) in their fourth straight victory.
Ball State led 9-7 after a Mason Jones 3-pointer at the 14:17 mark of the first half, but that would be the visitors' final edge. Jihad hit a layup in the closing seconds of the opening period to get the Cardinals within three points at intermission.
Also contributing in the Ball State lineup were junior Davion Bailey (seven points, five rebounds) and freshman Trent Middleton Jr. (six points, three rebounds). In addition to the troubles holding onto the ball, the Cardinals struggled shooting (31.4 percent from the field), leading to losses in the points in the paint (42-20) and fast break points (17-0) categories.
Ball State returns home to host USC Upstate at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in its first game of the Midwest Madness: Cardinal Classic.
Team Stats
BSU
Evans
FG%
.314
.458
3FG%
.357
.333
FT%
.722
.750
RB
31
39
TO
18
9
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball // Armoni Zeigler
Wednesday, September 10
Men's Basketball // Armoni Zeigler - Heart of the Cardinal Podcast
Tuesday, September 09
Men's Basketball // Jai Anthoni Bearden
Wednesday, August 20
Men's Basketball // Jai Anthoni Bearden - Heart of the Cardinal Podcast
Wednesday, August 20