Saturday, December 21
Muncie, Ind.
2 PM
Ball State University
5-6,0-0MAC
80
vs
43
Evansville
3-9,0-1MVC
1
2
F
Evansville
17
26
43
Ball St.
37
43
80
Photo by: Collin Phillips/Ball State Athletics
Stifling Defense Propels Cardinals to Dominant Win over Evansville
December 21, 2024 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team stifled Evansville to 29 percent shooting, and Payton Sparks had a season-best offensive performance to lead the Cardinals to an 80-43 win on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena.
Ball State (5-6) scored the first 11 points of the game and never looked back, taking a 37-17 lead into the halftime break. The 17 points were the fewest the Cardinals have allowed in a half this season, and the 20-point margin was the best halftime edge of the year as well.
Sparks went for 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block off the bench to propel the Cardinals to their second straight win. Jermahri Hill had a trio of highlight-reel dunks on his way to 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals on the afternoon. Two of the steals led to breakaway slams in the first half.
Jeremiah Hernandez added 12 points, three assists and three steals, while Ben Hendriks (10 points, four rebounds) rounded out the Cardinals in double-figures scoring. A total of 10 Ball State players put points on the board during the contest.
Ball State shot 50 percent (27-54) from the field including 41.2 percent (7-17) on 3-pointers while making 67.9 percent (19-28) of foul shots. Evansville went 16-for-55 on field goals and made only 11.5 percent (3-26) from distance.
The Cardinals won the rebounding battle 42-33 and enjoyed advantages in points in the paint (32-22) and second chance points (13-7). Evansville committed more turnovers (13-6) than Ball State to allow the hosts to hold a 20-3 edge in points off turnovers.
The 37-point margin of victory was the second-most in the series history between Evansville for the Cardinals following a 61-16 decision on Feb. 2, 1930 in the second-ever contest. Ball State limited the Purple Aces (3-9) to their fewest points in previous matchups since 1935.
The hosts forced an NCAA Division I opponent to sub-30 percent shooting for the first time since March 11, 2019 against Eastern Michigan, which was also the last time Ball State held a Division I opponent to 43 points or fewer. The Cardinals topped the Eagles 61-43 in Ypsilanti in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament that day.
Ball State will get a nine-day break between games for Christmas before hosting Anderson on New Year's Eve.
Ball State (5-6) scored the first 11 points of the game and never looked back, taking a 37-17 lead into the halftime break. The 17 points were the fewest the Cardinals have allowed in a half this season, and the 20-point margin was the best halftime edge of the year as well.
Sparks went for 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block off the bench to propel the Cardinals to their second straight win. Jermahri Hill had a trio of highlight-reel dunks on his way to 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals on the afternoon. Two of the steals led to breakaway slams in the first half.
Jeremiah Hernandez added 12 points, three assists and three steals, while Ben Hendriks (10 points, four rebounds) rounded out the Cardinals in double-figures scoring. A total of 10 Ball State players put points on the board during the contest.
Ball State shot 50 percent (27-54) from the field including 41.2 percent (7-17) on 3-pointers while making 67.9 percent (19-28) of foul shots. Evansville went 16-for-55 on field goals and made only 11.5 percent (3-26) from distance.
The Cardinals won the rebounding battle 42-33 and enjoyed advantages in points in the paint (32-22) and second chance points (13-7). Evansville committed more turnovers (13-6) than Ball State to allow the hosts to hold a 20-3 edge in points off turnovers.
The 37-point margin of victory was the second-most in the series history between Evansville for the Cardinals following a 61-16 decision on Feb. 2, 1930 in the second-ever contest. Ball State limited the Purple Aces (3-9) to their fewest points in previous matchups since 1935.
The hosts forced an NCAA Division I opponent to sub-30 percent shooting for the first time since March 11, 2019 against Eastern Michigan, which was also the last time Ball State held a Division I opponent to 43 points or fewer. The Cardinals topped the Eagles 61-43 in Ypsilanti in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament that day.
Ball State will get a nine-day break between games for Christmas before hosting Anderson on New Year's Eve.
Team Stats
Evans
BSU
FG%
.291
.500
3FG%
.115
.412
FT%
.533
.679
RB
33
42
TO
13
6
STL
2
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
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