BALL STATE 85, IU - KOKOMO 58
AKRON 73, FLORIDA A&M 66
WEST VIRGINIA 63, KENT STATE 50
MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State ended a two-game skid with an 85-58 victory over IU - Kokomo Sunday at Worthen Arena. BSU was led by Tyler Cochran with 19 points as the Cardinals recorded four players in double digits.
With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 4-5 on the year, while the Cougars fell to 12-3 on the season.
Cochran led the way with 19 points and added a game-high two steals to go along with his two rebounds and two assists. He has now scored in double figures in four of the last five games. Miryne Thomas posted a 13-point performance and chipped in with three rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.
Luke Bumbalough added 12 points, tied for a team-high five assists and one steal. Bumbalough has now scored in double figures in six straight contests. Payton Sparks was the final player in double digits with 12. He led the team with a game-high seven rebounds, tied for the team lead with five assists and had the team's only other block.
After the teams traded 3-point baskets to start the game, Ball State went on a 7-2 run and took a 10-5 advantage early in the first half. The Cougars managed to come back and tie the game at 15-15 with 15:02 left in the first half.
The Cardinals led 22-15. After a jumper by IU Kokomo, Ball State went on an 11-4 run. During the run, Jalen Windham came up big with three 3-pointers. Ball State was able to extend its lead to 43-27 after a 10-6 run, where five different players scored two points each.
The stifling Cardinal defense held the Cougars to just five points in the final five minutes in the first half. Ball State took a 53-40 lead into the break.
After intermission, the BSU defense picked up where it left on in the first half, as Thomas blocked the first shot of the second half. Sparks and Thomas combined for seven points, four and three respectively, as Ball State opened the second on a 7-0 run and extended its lead to 30, 60-30.
The Cougars scored four unanswered and made the score 60-34, in favor of the Cardinals. BSU responded with a 15-6 run that lasted 7:05. BSU held a 75-40 lead with 9:14 left in regulation. During the run, Sparks came up big on the defensive end with an emphatic rejection. With 7:53 left in the game, Bumbalough drained a 3-pointer which gave Ball State a 36-point lead, 78-42, the largest of the game.
IU Kokomo scored the game's next eight points, led by Trequan Spivey with two 3-pointers.
Mickey Pearson Jr. ended the scoring drought for the Cardinals with a 3-ball and put BSU on top, 81-50, with 4:38 left in the contest.
The Cougars ended the game outscoring the Cardinals 6-4 in the final two minutes, but Ball State went on to win comfortably, 85-58.
As a team, the Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field on 33-of-66 and 12-of-28 from behind the arc for 44.4 percent. The stingy Cardinal defense held the Cougars to 26.3 percent from 3-point range. BSU forced 15 turnovers and capitalized with 27 points off those turnovers. Ball State held a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint. The Cardinals bench outscored the Cougars bench, 24-10. BSU finished the game with 11 of the 13 players scoring points.
Spivey led IU Kokomo with a game-high 21 points. He added four rebounds and three assists. Dorian Porch added a double-digit performance with 10. Zach Rinehart brought down a game-high nine rebounds.
Ball State takes to the road for a contest in Normal, Illinois, as the Cardinals are set to battle Illinois State on Saturday, Dec. 18. The tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
AKRON, Ohio – The Akron Zips capped exam week by passing a tough test from a resilient Florida A&M team, downing the visiting Rattlers 73-66 in a rare Sunday afternoon contest at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Capping off a three-game homestand to begin the month of December, the Zips (6-3) led from start to finish and relied on an aggressive defense to claim the win. After building a big early lead, Akron fended off a determined Florida A&M side to win its fourth straight contest.
Junior guard Xavier Castaneda led the Zips with 17 points and a team-high five assists, with sophomore forward Ali Ali contributing 14 points in the win and junior guard Bryan Trimble, Jr. also reaching double figures with 13. Sophomore forward Enrique Freeman paced Akron on the glass, snaring a game-best 11 rebounds to go with seven points on the afternoon.
The contest was decided in a key stretch in the second half as Akron used a 13-4 run over a span of 5:56 to turn a three-point edge into a 60-48 margin with just over five minutes remaining. Trimble (six) and Tribble (five) combined for 11 of 13 points during the run.
Early on, it looked as if Akron would pull away for a big win, but the Rattlers (2-6) hung tough on the road. A tough offensive stretch to end the first half saw Akron go the final 8:46 of the opening frame without a field goal make, but the defense was able to corral the Rattlers and allowed the hosts to maintain their lead heading into the break.
After making six 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Zips weren't able to convert any triples in the final 10 minutes of the opening half and maintained their lead largely at the foul line, where they outscored the visitors 8-2 in the half.
Senior guard M.J. Randolph led Florida A&M with 23 points while graduate student guard Kamron Reaves added 19 in defeat.
Akron is scheduled to travel to Dayton, Ohio for a game against Horizon League opponent Wright State on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at Nutter Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Kent State (5-4) finished its road non-conference schedule Sunday with a 63-50 loss to West Virginia (9-1).
The Flashes and Mountaineers both struggled to get it going offensively over the first 10 minutes of the game. The score was just 9-9 at the 9:14 mark of the opening half and WVU took a 25-22 lead into the locker room.
West Virginia pushed the lead to 40-31 early in the second half but a 6-0 Kent State run including four straight points by Malique Jacobs brought the score within three at the under-12:00 media timeout.
The next six minutes belonged solely to the Mountaineers, as they used a 14-0 run to stretch the lead and never look back.
Eight different Golden Flashes recorded points in the game led by Sincere Carry with 18. Justyn Hamilton produced his second double-double of the year off the bench with 10 points and 12 rebounds, four of those on the offensive glass. Jacobs finished with eight points and five boards.
Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil combined for 46 of the Mountaineers' 63 points with Sherman posting 27 points and five rebounds. McNeil finished with 19 points and four boards. West Virginia shot 47.8 percent from the field and held the Flashes to just 34.5 percent shooting.