Senior center Trey Moses had his first double-double of the season by halftime on his way to a season-high 14 points and a career-best 17 rebounds.
Five BSU players scored in double figures, led by Tayler Persons with 20. Zach Gunn scored a career-high 17, with all but one coming in the second half. Tahjai Teague and K.J. Walton added 15 each in addition to the 14 from Moses.
“We weren’t perfect; there were stretches of the game where we needed to defend better,” Ball State head coach James Whitford said. “But I was really proud of our leaders. I thought Tayler, for sure, really took charge inside our huddles and our locker room. I thought Tahjai, Kyle (Mallers) and Trey were very unselfish. We played the right way for 40 minutes.”
Ball State shot nearly 60 percent from the floor for the game and made 7-of-11 attempts from 3-point range in the second half while blowing open a lead that was 15 at the break. The Cardinals outscored Tiffin 59-28 over the final 20 minutes. Gunn led the 3-point barrage in the second half, connecting on all four of his 3-point attempts.
Persons added six assists to his 20 points as part of a season-high 22 total assists for Ball State. The MAC assists leader coming into the night, he now has 22 of them during the Cardinals’ current three-game winning streak.
Ball State nearly doubled up the Dragons on the boards with a 52-27 margin. Walton was second on the team with nine rebounds, coming up one shy of his own double-double, while Gunn pulled down a career-high eight of them.
Redshirt freshman center Blake Huggins saw the most extended playing time of his career with eight minutes of action in the second half. He collected two rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist while also making a free throw.
Austin Adams was the lone Tiffin player to reach double figures, scoring 18 points.
Ball State will now hit the road for four straight, starting with Saturday’s 1 p.m. tipoff at IUPUI. The challenging stretch also includes a visit to 2018 national semifinalist Loyola Chicago, a return trip to Evansville and a matchup at Valparaiso.
(Courtesy of BSU Athletics)