Second Half Leads Men's Hoops To Series Sweep Of EIU
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Ball State men's basketball team recorded a season series sweep of Eastern Illinois Wednesday night as the Cardinals used a strong second half surge to down the Panthers 58-51 at Lantz Arena. The season series sweep is the first for Ball State since sweeping Northern Illinois in the 2006-07 season.
"At halftime we talked about two things, defense and rebounding," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We stepped our game up on defense in the second half and held Eastern Illinois to just 16 percent shooting. We also did a better job on the boards which allowed us to get out in transition to jump-start our offense."
Ball State (4-3) trailed 35-26 at halftime before dominating the Panthers 32-16 in the second half to record their first victory of the year when trailing at halftime. The Cardinals connected on 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from the field in the second half while limiting Eastern Illinois to just 16.1 percent (5-of-31) shooting from the field in the second frame.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) continued his dominance against EIU as he posted his fourth double-double of the season with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Jones connected on 5-of-6 from the field in the second half to lead the Cardinals to the victory. In three career games against the Panthers, he averages 18.7 points per game and 12.0 rebounds per contest with three double-doubles.
"Jarrod was huge for us tonight and he did a good job scoring in the paint against the EIU zone," Taylor said. "We were able to get the ball into the heart of the defense in the second half and he did a great job finishing in the paint."
The two teams came out of the gate and went back-and-forth to an early 6-6 tie. The Cardinals posted a 10-4 run to take a 16-10 lead and for EIU into a timeout. Senior forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) started the run with an old-fashioned three-point play and sophomore Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) hit a three-pointer to key the spurt.
Eastern Illinois (3-6) answered back with a 20-6 run to take a 30-22 lead as the Panthers attacked the offensive glass. EIU posted nine offensive rebounds in the first half with James Hollowell leading the way with six offensive boards and 10 total rebounds. Curry McKinney keyed the stretch for EIU with eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.
Ball State entered the halftime break trailing 35-26 as it connected on 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from the field and just 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from three-point land. Jones led the Cardinals with 10 first half points while Scaife chipped in seven. Eastern Illinois shot 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from the field and 30 percent (3-of-10) from long range.
The Cardinals came out of the halftime break on a mission as they scored the first seven points of the second half to narrow the gap to 35-33 and force EIU into a timeout. Jones scored in the paint on the first two possessions of the half and Scaife nailed a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game.
The Cardinals took the lead as they extended their run to 17-7 to secure a 43-38 lead. Jones and Scaife keyed the spurt along with junior Randy Davis' (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) who nailed a three-pointer that tied the game.
Ball State held the lead down the stretch as it was in front 52-46 with 3:25 left in the game. Eastern Illinois kept battling and trimmed the deficit to three points before Jones scored in the paint with 1:53 remaining. The Cardinals needed a big defensive stop on the ensuing possession and Perry stepped forward and drew a charge from Hollowell to force a turnover to keep it a two-possession game.
The Panthers made one final push as Jeremy Granger hit two free throws with 58 seconds remaining to trim the BSU lead to 54-51. The Cardinals misfired on their possession but freshman guard Jesse Berry (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) was fouled on the rebound. Berry, who was held scoreless to that point in the game, calmly hit two free throws to make it a five-point game. Ball State sealed the victory with two more free throws by Davis to end the threat at 58-51.
The Cardinals connected on 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field but only 19.0 percent (4-of-21) from long range. BSU also hit just 52.6 percent (10-of-19 from the free throw line, but nailed their final four in the closing seconds to seal the victory.
Scaife finished the night with 16 points and five rebounds as he was 6-of-12 from the field, including three of the Cardinals' four three-pointers. Davis continued his strong all-around game as he scored nine points, dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds. Perry ended the game with seven points and six rebounds as Ball State out-scored EIU 28-14 in the paint.
Eastern Illinois was held to just 27.7 percent (18-of-65) shooting from the field and just 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from three-point land. The Panthers did finish the game with a 46-39 advantage on the glass, including 18 offensive rebounds. Hollowell tallied eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds in the loss while Granger led all EIU players with 11 points. The Cardinals continued their strong work on EIU leading scorer Tyler Laser as he was held to just four points on 1-of-13 shooting from the field.
Ball State returns to action Saturday afternoon as it travels to the Windy City for a meeting with Big East foe DePaul. Game time is set for 8 p.m. on the DePaul campus.
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