Tuesday, February 7
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Ball State University
17-7,8-3MAC
65
at
51
Central Michigan
8-16,3-8MAC
1
2
F
Ball St.
37
28
65
Central Mich.
31
20
51
Photo by: Chad Smith
Five Cardinals Finish in Double Figures in Victory Over Chippewas
February 07, 2023 | Men's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Ball State men's basketball team was back on the road with a Mid-American Conference matchup against Central Michigan on Tuesday. For the second-straight game, the Cardinals had five players in double digits. Mickey Pearson Jr. produced a team-high 13 points as BSU defeated CMU 65-51.
Ball State improved to 17-7 overall and 8-3 in MAC play, while Central Michigan fell to 8-16 overall and 3-8 in league play. The 17-7 record is the best start since the Cardinals started 1997-98 with a 21-7 record.
"I'm really proud of our effort defensively," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "We were on pace to give up 120 at the first media timeout. We gave up 11 in the first four minutes of the game and then 40 for the last 36 minutes. Really proud of our defensive effort. Offensively, I thought we had some silly turnovers. There will always be things that we can clean up. To travel up here and come out and compete the way that we did, I'm really proud of our defensive effort. You hold guys to 51, you're going to have an opportunity to win a lot of games."
Pearson led the Cardinals with 13 points and brought down six rebounds. He posted back-to-back games in double figures. Demarius Jacobs finished in double digits for the second-straight game with 12 points. He added three rebounds, tied for a team-best three assists, and one block. Jaylin Sellers produced his third-straight game in double figures with 12 points. Sellers collected four rebounds and two assists. Payton Sparks recorded a double-double for his second-straight game with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Sparks blocked a game-high two shots to go along with two assists and a steal. Basheer Jihad closed out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. He collected six rebounds, tied a career high with three steals, and dished out one assist.
The Chippewas opened the game with a 12-5 run that ended with 16:05 left in the first stanza. The Cardinals were unfazed and answered with a 7-0 run. Basheer Jihad capped off the run with a layup, despite the foul. He converted the and-1 opportunity to tie the game, 12-12, with 11:52 left in the first.
The runs continued, as CMU outscored BSU 9-3 over the next 2:28, to retake the lead, 21-15. The Cardinals were resilient once again. Ball State responded with an 11-0 run to regain the lead, 26-21, with 5:31 left in the half. During the run, Sellers secured a long rebound and went the length of the court for an emphatic dunk.
The remaining 5:27 was a back-and-forth battle as the two squads traded baskets. The Cardinals outscored the Chippewas 11-10 and took a 37-31 lead into the break.
Central Michigan scored the first four points of the second half to cut the Ball State lead to just two, 37-35. The Cardinals bounced back and scored seven unanswered to extend the lead to 44-35 with 14:34 left on the clock.
The next 6:54 was a back-and-forth affair as BSU outscored CMU 12-11 and took a 56-46 lead. The Cardinals ended the game with a 9-5 run to claim a 65-51 victory. During the final 12:15 of play, Ball State was 11-15 from the free-throw line and did not turn the ball over.
Brian Taylor produced a game-high 20 points for Central Michigan. Taylor had a team-high seven rebounds, two assists, one block, and one assist. Markus Harding was the only other Chippewa in double figures with 11 points. He added three rebounds and a block. Reggie Bass led the team with a game-high eight assists to go along with his nine points.
Ball State returns to the friendly confines of Worthen Arena on Saturday, Feb. 11, as Bowling Green makes the trip to Muncie. Tip is slated for 2 p.m.
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 17-7 overall and 8-3 in MAC play, while Central Michigan fell to 8-16 overall and 3-8 in league play. The 17-7 record is the best start since the Cardinals started 1997-98 with a 21-7 record.
"I'm really proud of our effort defensively," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "We were on pace to give up 120 at the first media timeout. We gave up 11 in the first four minutes of the game and then 40 for the last 36 minutes. Really proud of our defensive effort. Offensively, I thought we had some silly turnovers. There will always be things that we can clean up. To travel up here and come out and compete the way that we did, I'm really proud of our defensive effort. You hold guys to 51, you're going to have an opportunity to win a lot of games."
Pearson led the Cardinals with 13 points and brought down six rebounds. He posted back-to-back games in double figures. Demarius Jacobs finished in double digits for the second-straight game with 12 points. He added three rebounds, tied for a team-best three assists, and one block. Jaylin Sellers produced his third-straight game in double figures with 12 points. Sellers collected four rebounds and two assists. Payton Sparks recorded a double-double for his second-straight game with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Sparks blocked a game-high two shots to go along with two assists and a steal. Basheer Jihad closed out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. He collected six rebounds, tied a career high with three steals, and dished out one assist.
The Chippewas opened the game with a 12-5 run that ended with 16:05 left in the first stanza. The Cardinals were unfazed and answered with a 7-0 run. Basheer Jihad capped off the run with a layup, despite the foul. He converted the and-1 opportunity to tie the game, 12-12, with 11:52 left in the first.
The runs continued, as CMU outscored BSU 9-3 over the next 2:28, to retake the lead, 21-15. The Cardinals were resilient once again. Ball State responded with an 11-0 run to regain the lead, 26-21, with 5:31 left in the half. During the run, Sellers secured a long rebound and went the length of the court for an emphatic dunk.
.@JaylinSellers gets the long rebound and takes it all the way for the emphatic SLAM??#ChirpChirp x #WeFly pic.twitter.com/qEdQ0hqG5e
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) February 8, 2023
The remaining 5:27 was a back-and-forth battle as the two squads traded baskets. The Cardinals outscored the Chippewas 11-10 and took a 37-31 lead into the break.
Central Michigan scored the first four points of the second half to cut the Ball State lead to just two, 37-35. The Cardinals bounced back and scored seven unanswered to extend the lead to 44-35 with 14:34 left on the clock.
The next 6:54 was a back-and-forth affair as BSU outscored CMU 12-11 and took a 56-46 lead. The Cardinals ended the game with a 9-5 run to claim a 65-51 victory. During the final 12:15 of play, Ball State was 11-15 from the free-throw line and did not turn the ball over.
Brian Taylor produced a game-high 20 points for Central Michigan. Taylor had a team-high seven rebounds, two assists, one block, and one assist. Markus Harding was the only other Chippewa in double figures with 11 points. He added three rebounds and a block. Reggie Bass led the team with a game-high eight assists to go along with his nine points.
Ball State returns to the friendly confines of Worthen Arena on Saturday, Feb. 11, as Bowling Green makes the trip to Muncie. Tip is slated for 2 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
CMU
FG%
.457
.339
3FG%
.294
.222
FT%
.750
.750
RB
37
29
TO
16
13
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Players Mentioned
G
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