MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State ran its winning streak to five games Tuesday with a 77-68 victory over Northern Illinois at Worthen Arena.
Junior center Trey Moses scored a career-high 23 points and senior guard Sean Sellers . . .
Junior center Trey Moses scored a career-high 23 points and senior guard Sean Sellers . . .
. . . tied the school’s career 3-point record as the Cardinals improved to 14-1 at home this season.
With the victory, Ball State (19-9, 10-5 MAC) moved within a game of first-place Toledo in the MAC West Division standings with three games to play.
Northern Illinois (12-16, 5-10 MAC) was coming off victories over league-leading Buffalo and MAC West preseason favorite Western Michigan in its past three games.
“Every game in this league is a fight, and this one was too for a lot of the game,” Ball State head coach James Whitford said. “I thought the second half (was a key), the way we started it and really for the first 15 minutes, we were outstanding.
“The first half was a grind. We weren’t playing that well offensively, but we were able to keep the lead because our defense was solid. In the second half, I thought we put both parts together. We got (the lead) up to about 20 but didn’t play with the lead as well as we should have.”
The Cardinals continued their trend of opening games with hot starts, sprinting out to an 8-0 lead against Northern. It was the fourth straight game BSU has led at least 7-0.
Northern Illinois, however, rallied with a 9-1 run to grab a 20-18 lead with 8:28 to play in the period. The teams went back-and-forth, and it was a tie game with 2 minutes left in the first half before the Cardinals scored five straight on the way to a 37-32 halftime lead.
Ball State came out of the break quickly and doubled its lead in the first 3 minutes.
A pair of free throws from NIU’s Levi Bradley cut the Ball State advantage to 44-41 with 13:30 to play, but the Cardinals went on a 29-9 run over the next 6-plus minutes to open up a 73-50 lead.
Northern Illinois put together a charge down the stretch, but the margin was too much to overcome. German’s layup on the Huskies’ final possession brought the lead back to nine.
Joining Moses in double figures for the Cardinals were Tayler Persons (14), Tahjai Teague (13), and Sellers (12).
Eugene German hit 10 of 18 shots from the floor while totaling 25 points to lead NIU. Anastasios Demogerontas came off the bench to score 13 points in 19 minutes. Livi Bradley added 10 points.
NEXT:
Ball State looks to continue its winning ways, especially at home (14-1) when the Cardinals host Western Michigan Friday (9 p.m.). One more home victory would tie the school record set in three consecutive years (1990-1993).
Northern Illinois is back in action Saturday when it visits another hot team – Eastern Michigan (noon).
With the victory, Ball State (19-9, 10-5 MAC) moved within a game of first-place Toledo in the MAC West Division standings with three games to play.
Northern Illinois (12-16, 5-10 MAC) was coming off victories over league-leading Buffalo and MAC West preseason favorite Western Michigan in its past three games.
“Every game in this league is a fight, and this one was too for a lot of the game,” Ball State head coach James Whitford said. “I thought the second half (was a key), the way we started it and really for the first 15 minutes, we were outstanding.
“The first half was a grind. We weren’t playing that well offensively, but we were able to keep the lead because our defense was solid. In the second half, I thought we put both parts together. We got (the lead) up to about 20 but didn’t play with the lead as well as we should have.”
The Cardinals continued their trend of opening games with hot starts, sprinting out to an 8-0 lead against Northern. It was the fourth straight game BSU has led at least 7-0.
Northern Illinois, however, rallied with a 9-1 run to grab a 20-18 lead with 8:28 to play in the period. The teams went back-and-forth, and it was a tie game with 2 minutes left in the first half before the Cardinals scored five straight on the way to a 37-32 halftime lead.
Ball State came out of the break quickly and doubled its lead in the first 3 minutes.
A pair of free throws from NIU’s Levi Bradley cut the Ball State advantage to 44-41 with 13:30 to play, but the Cardinals went on a 29-9 run over the next 6-plus minutes to open up a 73-50 lead.
Northern Illinois put together a charge down the stretch, but the margin was too much to overcome. German’s layup on the Huskies’ final possession brought the lead back to nine.
Joining Moses in double figures for the Cardinals were Tayler Persons (14), Tahjai Teague (13), and Sellers (12).
Eugene German hit 10 of 18 shots from the floor while totaling 25 points to lead NIU. Anastasios Demogerontas came off the bench to score 13 points in 19 minutes. Livi Bradley added 10 points.
NEXT:
Ball State looks to continue its winning ways, especially at home (14-1) when the Cardinals host Western Michigan Friday (9 p.m.). One more home victory would tie the school record set in three consecutive years (1990-1993).
Northern Illinois is back in action Saturday when it visits another hot team – Eastern Michigan (noon).
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