The Cardinals (12-6, 3-2 MAC) improved to 9-1 at home this season, while Central Michigan (12-6, 1-4 MAC) dropped its fourth straight.
"I thought it was a really hard-fought game. I credit Central Michigan, Ball State head coach James Whitford said. “I thought they . . .
Tyler matched his career high with five 3-pointers, going 5 for 10 from beyond the arc, on his way to a season-high 21 points off the bench. His night included a steal and dunk, plus a blocked shot that led to a run-out in the closing minutes to help keep Ball State out in front.
Trey Moses recorded his third double-double in MAC play and his fifth in the past eight games with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The junior big man was 5 for 6 from the free throw line.
Junior point guard Tayler Persons finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. He was a pair of assists and rebounds away from Ball State's first triple-double since Bonzi Wells in 1998.
Sean Sellers (11 points) and Tahjai Teague (10) rounded out the double-figure scorers.
Ball State hit 17 of 28 shots after halftime to finish at 50 percent for the game. Central Michigan shot just 36.1 percent, marking BSU's best defensive night against a Division I opponent this season. That performance helped the Cardinals overcome a 47-35 deficit on the glass and 21 CMU offensive rebounds.
Led by Tyler's 21, the Ball State bench outscored Central Michigan's bench 36-8.
"Tonight we needed to get the ball inside to Trey and Tahjai. That was a big theme in the game,” Whitford said. “I thought those guys did a very good job. When Central Michigan didn't double team, they figured it out and got good shots. When they did double, they got the ball out and we were able to get it around and let the right guy take the shot."
Forward Luke Meyer (6-11, sr) had a big game for CMU, tallying 26 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He made 9 of 14 overall from the floor and was 6 of 10 on treys.
Junior guard Shawn Roundtree contributed 16 points, although it came on 5 of 22 from the field (3 of 7 on treys). Forward Cecil Williams made 5 of 10 from the floor with 14 points and seven boards.
David DiLeo and Josh Kozinski entered the game as the Chippewas' top 3-point shooting threats, but Ball State held them to a combined 1-for-10 from deep. CMU ended the night 10 of 30 as a team from the 3-point line.
"We have not defended the 3 well, and we needed to in this game,” Whitford said. “The fact that we held (DiLeo and Kozinski) to 10 attempts between the two of them was a really good sign for us."
Ball State led for more than 36 minutes and trailed for just 68 seconds. The Cardinals took the lead for good on a Tyler 3-pointer at the 10:24 mark of the first half.
BSU held a 37-31 advantage at halftime and never saw its lead shrink to fewer than four points in the second half. The Cardinals took their largest lead at 54-42 on another Tyler 3 with 12:15 left in the game.
NEXT:
Ball State will play four of its next five games on the road, starting Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. tipoff at Miami in Oxford.
Central Michigan is at Bowling Green Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET).
(Courtesy of BSU Athletics)