|
Senior
D'Andre Peyton scored a career-high 22 points, while senior Skip
Mills added 14 points as the Ball State men's basketball team
defeated rival Indiana State 73-70 in overtime. |
| The
Cardinals (3-4) returned to Worthen Arena Saturday after an
exhausting stretch of five games in eight days to play the
Sycamores (4-3). Ball State fended off a talented ISU team to
win in overtime 73-70. |
| "I'm
most happy today because the guys didn't give up," head
coach Ronny Thompson said. "They found a way to win." |
| The
122nd meeting in the all-time series -- the longest with any
opponent for the Cardinals -- started slowly for both
teams. |
| Ball
State took its biggest lead of the first half at 25-19 following
a layup from Mills with 3:23 on the clock. |
| The
Sycamores answered however hitting a pair of treys in the final
three minutes to tie the game at 27 at the half. Ball State's
defense forced 15 ISU turnovers and accounted for four steals in
the first half. |
| "I
think the turnovers we generated were huge," Thompson said.
"Another key was that we were able to score off those
turnovers. In the past few games, we got the turnovers but
didn't score. Now we're scoring off them." |
| Ball
State started off the second period with a shot-clock beating
three by junior Steve Horton and a lay-up from Mills. The
Cardinals still held the lead at the 15:11 mark, when a steal by
Chris Ames translated into a dunk that sent "The Nest"
into a frenzy. |
| "My
goodness the fans today," Thompson said. "Did you hear
the student section or was it just me? I mean they were
unreal. We've got to have them like that more often.
There's no question 'The Nest' got our guys going." |
| The
teams would continue to trade buckets and the lead as they
totalled 15 ties and 17 lead changes on the afternoon. |
| The
Cardinals held a 64-61 lead with :16 seconds left in regulation,
before a clutch three by Indiana State's Gabriel Moore with :06
remaining tied the game and forced overtime. |
| In
overtime the lead would change three times before a free throw
by Peyton Stovall tied the game at 69. After a punctuating three
by D'Andre Peyton with just :15 on the clock, the Cardinals
never looked back en route to the 73-70 win. |
| "We
called the play for D'Andre and he knocked it down,"
Thompson said. "We didn't need a three but he hit it." |
| "A
victory feels really good," said senior Chris Ames, who
played his fourth game with his mouth wired shut after suffering
a broken jaw. "Everybody wants to win so this feels really
good for us. We never let ourselves get down, we just come back
the next day and work harder. This victory was a team thing,
everybody pitched in today." |
| While
the Cardinals only shot 36 percent, they had 19 more attempts
than the Sycamores thanks in large to a tight defense that
forced a game-high 21 turnovers. |
| The
BSU bench also played well, outscoring Indiana State's bench
33-9. |
| In
addition to the career-high 22 points from Peyton, the senior
also grabbed seven rebounds and two steals. |
| Mills
finished with 14 points, while sophomore Anthony Newell reached
double figures for the seventh straight game with 11 points and
six boards. |
| Ball
State returns to the road for two straight games beginning with
a 7 p.m. tilt Wednesday at No. 19 Butler in Indianapolis.
The Cardinals then travel to San Diego to battle Oklahoma State
Dec. 9. |
