• Blog
  • About Us
  • Links
  MAC Reporter Online

Cardinals end WMU win streak; get rematch with Zips

3/9/2017

 
PictureBall State's Trey Moses defends a Western Michigan shot. (SGW/BMP)
By EVAN MEYER
CLEVELAND, Ohio --
The Ball State Cardinals defeated Western Michigan 66-63 Thursday afternoon in the second quarterfinal game of the 2017 Mid-American Conference Men’s Basketball tournament at Quicken Loans Arena.

Ball State (21-11) advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2011 and will face the top-seeded Akron Zips in the first game on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. UA the regular season and Eastern Division champions defeated Eastern Michigan in the first quarterfinal, 79-62.

Junior Francis Kiapway led . . . 

. . . BSU with 16 points, while senior Franko House added 14. Sophomore trey Moses tallied 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Senior Ryan Weber had 10.

Western Michigan (16-16) saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end while suffering just its second loss in the last 11 games.

Junior Thomas Wilder led all scorers in the contest with 24 points, while freshman Brandon Johnson added 13 points and eight rebounds.

WMU held as much as an eight point lead in the early going. BSU then took the advantage as it outscored the Broncos 22-6 to take a nine-point lead, 37-28, on a three by Kiapway. Ball State led by five at intermission 38-33.

The second half was tightly contested, with the lead changing hands six times. WMU was holding a 55-54 lead at the 7:07 mark when Houst scored on a layup to put the Cards in front for good, 56-55.
PictureTurcker Haymond defends a Francis Kiapway shot (SGW/BMP)
Both teams exchanged baskets for the remainder of the game, although Western got a late opportunity to tie or take the lead after BSU missed two of four free throws in the final moments. 

Wilder took the ball between the circles and drove down the lane. Swamed by defenders, he failed to get off a shot. Ball State grabbed the ball and added a free throw to make the final margin three-points.

NOTES:
-- Although BSU came away with the victory, it lost sophomore guard Tayler Persons when he was injured while diving for a loose ball. Persons collided with a teammate at the 10:27 mark of the first half and was taken off the court.

-- Ball State will likely need its "A-game" when it meets No. 1 seed Akron Friday. The Cardinals, however, know that they can hang UA. The two teams battled to a dramatic 65-63 Zips win back on Feb. 7. That contest was decided when MAC Player of the Year Isaiah Johnson hit a jumper from the left wing with :00.2 seconds remaining.
 
This will be just the second time the two schools will play in the tournament. The other occasion was in 2004 when BSU prevailed 76-72 in Muncie.


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    MAC Football 

    MAC FOOTBALL 
    2024
    REGULAR SEASON
    FINAL STANDINGS
    CLICK HERE

    Picture
    MAC Basketball 
    MAC BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

    MAC BASKETBALL
    STATISTICS

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Basketball
    Football
    Other

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly