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 BALL STATE 74, CALUMET 39
Senior forward Jarrod Jones was the Cardinals' top performer, collecting his 22nd career double-double with a game-high 23 points to go along with a team-best 11 rebounds. It was Jones' third 20-plus point game of the season as he leads the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 20.3 points per game.
"We have really talked about trying to string together 40 minutes of basketball, and we didn't do that again today, but we are getting closer as we played 24 minutes of good basketball," fifth-year head coach Billy Taylor said.
"The last four minutes of the first half and the entire second half is how we want to play. We are still a work in progress and have room for growth. We did some good things in those last 24 minutes and will continue to work towards putting 40 minutes together."
Also scoring in double figures for the Cardinals were redshirt sophomore forward Tyler Koch with a career-high 14 points and sophomore guard Jesse Berry with 12. Koch connected on 5-7 from the field, including a career-high three three-pointers, while also grabbing seven rebounds and posting three blocked shots. Berry scored eight of his 12 in the second half as he played 17 minutes in the frame.
Ball State (2-2) started sluggishly until it posted an 11-2 run to take a 16-10 lead. Koch hit back-to-back three-pointers in the run to ignite the Cardinals' offense.
Calumet kept with the Cardinals until the final two minutes of the first half, when Ball State posted an 8-0 run to close the period. Jones scored four points in the spurt while Koch ended the half with a tip-in basket at the buzzer to give the Cardinals a 29-19 lead.
Ball State connected on 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from the field, but just 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from three-point land. Jones paced the attack with 10 points and six rebounds, while Koch scored eight points, including the Cardinals' only two three-pointers.
Calumet connected on 24.0 percent (6-of-25) from the field, including three 3-pointers. Roddy Richardson led the Crimson Wave with eight points while Robert Jackson added five.
The Cardinals came out of the locker room and posted a 24-3 run to open the second half, expanding the lead to 51-21 with just over 14 minutes left in the game. Berry started the run with a 3pointer, while Jones sparked the Cardinals with 11 points in the first 5:41 of the second half. Senior guard Randy Davis chipped in five points in the stretch, including the Cardinals' second 3-pointer of the spurt.
Ball State cruised victory down the stretch as it scored 10 straight late in the game to come away with a 35-point victory. The Cardinals connected on 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the field in the win and netted 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from three-point land. Ball State out-rebounded the Crimson Wave 49-35 while also out-scoring them 36-18 in the paint.
Davis finished the game with seven assists, five points and just two turnovers in 28 minutes of play. Freshman forward Aaron Adeoye added four points and six rebounds in 13 minutes of play ,while senior Pierre Sneed posted six rebounds in 10 minutes of action.
Calumet (0-6) ended the afternoon shooting 27.3 percent (15-of-55) from the field and 25 percent (4-of-16) from three-point land. The Crimson Wave was led by Richardson's 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting, while Karl Anderson posted a game-high 12 rebounds.
Ball State concludes its three-game home stand Tuesday afternoon as it hosts Texas Southern. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
Courtesy of Ball State Athletics
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