Tuesday, February 27
Mount Pleasant, MI
7:00 p.m.
Ball State University
14-14,6-9MAC
79
at
71
Central Michigan
16-12,10-5MAC
1
2
F
Ball St.
38
41
79
Central Mich.
31
40
71
Photo by: Jack Reeber
Cardinals Ride Hot Shooting and Career Night from Pearson Jr. to Win at Central Michigan
February 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Ball State men's basketball team had a blistering shooting stretch against one of the MAC's best defenses and a career high from Mickey Pearson Jr. to beat Central Michigan 79-71 on Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena.
The Cardinals (14-14, 6-9 Mid-American Conference) shot 71.9 percent (23 of 32) from the 10:41 mark of the first half to the 7:02 mark of the second half to turn a 17-11 deficit into a 74-58 lead. The Chippewas (16-12, 10-5 MAC) entered the matchup leading the MAC in field goal percentage defense and ranking second in the league in scoring defense.
Pearson Jr. dropped a career high 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting (3-5 on 3-pointers) and 4-4 at the free throw line, effectively catalyzing a second half rally for Ball State, who led 38-31 at the break.
Ball State got strong efforts from Davion Bailey, who made a trio of triples in the final five minutes of the first half, and Pearson Jr. and Jalin Anderson to start the second half, to bookend the halftime break. Bailey put up 18 points, five rebounds and two steals on the night, while Anderson added 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals to lead the Cardinals to their fourth win in the state of Michigan in four tries this season.
Basheer Jihad tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks, while freshmen Trent Middleton Jr. (six points, four assists, three rebounds) and Mason Jones (seven rebounds, two assists) also made contributions.
The visitors came out firing after halftime to the tune of a 10-3 run. The lead eventually peaked at 58-40 after an Anderson jumper culminated a stretch where the Cardinals outscored the Chippewas 47-23.
Central Michigan (16-12, 10-5 MAC) got 25 points from Paul McMillan IV and 16 points and seven rebounds from Derrick Butler, but couldn't overcome the hot shooting night for Ball State.
The Cardinals went 49.1 percent (28-57) from the field for the game including 43.5 percent (10-23) from distance and made 81.3 percent (13-16) of their free throws. The Chippewas hit 41.5 percent (25-60) of field goals, 40.0 percent (10-25) of 3-pointers and 73.3 percent (11-15) at the charity stripe.
The visitors controlled the boards (37-30) and had one less turnover (14-13), winning the points off turnovers (16-12) and points in the paint (30-26) categories.
Ball State returns home to take on Western Michigan at 2 p.m. on Saturday to begin a two-game homestand.
The Cardinals (14-14, 6-9 Mid-American Conference) shot 71.9 percent (23 of 32) from the 10:41 mark of the first half to the 7:02 mark of the second half to turn a 17-11 deficit into a 74-58 lead. The Chippewas (16-12, 10-5 MAC) entered the matchup leading the MAC in field goal percentage defense and ranking second in the league in scoring defense.
Pearson Jr. dropped a career high 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting (3-5 on 3-pointers) and 4-4 at the free throw line, effectively catalyzing a second half rally for Ball State, who led 38-31 at the break.
Ball State got strong efforts from Davion Bailey, who made a trio of triples in the final five minutes of the first half, and Pearson Jr. and Jalin Anderson to start the second half, to bookend the halftime break. Bailey put up 18 points, five rebounds and two steals on the night, while Anderson added 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals to lead the Cardinals to their fourth win in the state of Michigan in four tries this season.
Basheer Jihad tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks, while freshmen Trent Middleton Jr. (six points, four assists, three rebounds) and Mason Jones (seven rebounds, two assists) also made contributions.
The visitors came out firing after halftime to the tune of a 10-3 run. The lead eventually peaked at 58-40 after an Anderson jumper culminated a stretch where the Cardinals outscored the Chippewas 47-23.
Central Michigan (16-12, 10-5 MAC) got 25 points from Paul McMillan IV and 16 points and seven rebounds from Derrick Butler, but couldn't overcome the hot shooting night for Ball State.
The Cardinals went 49.1 percent (28-57) from the field for the game including 43.5 percent (10-23) from distance and made 81.3 percent (13-16) of their free throws. The Chippewas hit 41.5 percent (25-60) of field goals, 40.0 percent (10-25) of 3-pointers and 73.3 percent (11-15) at the charity stripe.
The visitors controlled the boards (37-30) and had one less turnover (14-13), winning the points off turnovers (16-12) and points in the paint (30-26) categories.
Ball State returns home to take on Western Michigan at 2 p.m. on Saturday to begin a two-game homestand.
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Team Stats
BSU
CMU
FG%
.491
.417
3FG%
.435
.400
FT%
.813
.733
RB
37
30
TO
13
14
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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