Wednesday, November 13
Dayton, Ohio
7 PM
Ball State University
1-2,0-0MAC
69
at
77
Dayton
3-0,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
F
Ball St.
26
43
69
Dayton
41
36
77
Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics
Hill's Big Game Not Enough for MBB to Pull off Comeback at Dayton
November 13, 2024 | Men's Basketball
Cardinals Trailed by Five with Ten Minutes to Play after Facing 20-Point Deficit
DAYTON, Ohio – The Ball State men's basketball team made a strong run from late in the first half to midway in the second but Dayton held on for a 77-69 win on Wednesday night at UD Arena.
The Cardinals (1-2) got 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists from Jermahri Hill that helped the visitors rally back from a 20-point deficit to trail by 53-48 after a Mickey Pearson Jr. 3-pointer with 10:44 to play. The triple punctuated a 27-12 run in just over 10 minutes of game time.
Ethan Brittain-Watts (16 points) hit four 3-pointers including a trio of them in the final five minutes to keep the visitors within striking distance. Pearson Jr. finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists as the third Cardinal to score in double figures.
Dayton (3-0) got out to a 10-0 lead in front of a full house of 13,407 fans of UD Arena but were outscored for the remainder of the contest. Enoch Cheeks (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Malachi Smith (17 points, 10 assists, six rebounds) paced the Flyers in scoring.
The hosts won the rebounding battle 35-31 and committed fewer turnovers (15-8). Ball State shot 38.5 percent (20-52) from the field including 44.4 percent (8-18) on 3-pointers while making 87.5 percent (21-24) of its free throw attempts. Dayton went 49.1 percent (26-53) on field goals, 21.1 percent (4-19) on 3-pointers and 72.4 percent (21-29) on free throws.
Brittain-Watts and Mason Jones made their first starts of the season for the Cardinals, who quieted the crowd midway through the second half after cutting Dayton's edge to two possessions. The Flyers held a 41-26 edge heading into the break with Hill scoring the last five points of the half including a highlight reel and-one dunk with five seconds to go before the halftime buzzer.
The Cardinals return home to host Indiana State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The Cardinals (1-2) got 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists from Jermahri Hill that helped the visitors rally back from a 20-point deficit to trail by 53-48 after a Mickey Pearson Jr. 3-pointer with 10:44 to play. The triple punctuated a 27-12 run in just over 10 minutes of game time.
Ethan Brittain-Watts (16 points) hit four 3-pointers including a trio of them in the final five minutes to keep the visitors within striking distance. Pearson Jr. finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists as the third Cardinal to score in double figures.
Dayton (3-0) got out to a 10-0 lead in front of a full house of 13,407 fans of UD Arena but were outscored for the remainder of the contest. Enoch Cheeks (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Malachi Smith (17 points, 10 assists, six rebounds) paced the Flyers in scoring.
The hosts won the rebounding battle 35-31 and committed fewer turnovers (15-8). Ball State shot 38.5 percent (20-52) from the field including 44.4 percent (8-18) on 3-pointers while making 87.5 percent (21-24) of its free throw attempts. Dayton went 49.1 percent (26-53) on field goals, 21.1 percent (4-19) on 3-pointers and 72.4 percent (21-29) on free throws.
Brittain-Watts and Mason Jones made their first starts of the season for the Cardinals, who quieted the crowd midway through the second half after cutting Dayton's edge to two possessions. The Flyers held a 41-26 edge heading into the break with Hill scoring the last five points of the half including a highlight reel and-one dunk with five seconds to go before the halftime buzzer.
The Cardinals return home to host Indiana State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Team Stats
BSU
UD
FG%
.385
.491
3FG%
.444
.211
FT%
.875
.724
RB
31
35
TO
15
8
STL
5
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
11
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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