"It was a good effort wire-to-wire," fifth-year head coach Saul Phillips said. "It was a good win over a good team. It can seem awfully dark after a few conference losses and you can go to some dark places within your own head, but the bottom line is, we know we are a very good defensive team. We're getting better offensively. That was probably our best offensively executed game of the year."
For Ball State, shooting and energy were the issues, according to head coach James Whitford.
"I commend Ohio; I thought they really came ready to play," Whitford said. "The problems for us were two-fold. We didn't come ready to play; we lacked the energy we needed from the start. And we had a tough night shooting the basketball."
Senior forward Doug Taylor scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards added a career-high eight assists off the bench.
Carter got the Bobcats going in the first half, scoring Ohio's first five points, including draining his first three of the game at the 19:11 mark. Ohio would go on to take at 10-0 lead before Ball State got on the board with a field goal at the 13:26 mark.
After Ball State cut the Ohio lead to 10-4, junior guard Antonio Cowart, Jr. hit back-to-back threes to put that Bobcats up 16-4.
Ball State cut the Ohio lead to 11 points with 7:28 left in the half, but free throws from Kirk and field goals from Taylor and redshirt junior guard James Gollon increased the Ohio lead to 24-9 with 5:51 remaining.
Free throws from Gollon gave the Bobcats a 19-point lead before Ball State cut the lead to 31-15 with 2:16 left in the half. A three-point basket from senior forward/guard Gavin Block at the end of the half gave the Bobcats a 38-18 lead as the teams went into the lock room.
At the half, the Bobcats shot 38.2 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from three-point range and 80.0 percent from the free throw line, while Ball State shot 27.3 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from three-point range and 50.0 percent from the free throw line.
Ohio out-rebounded Ball State 23-16, while also dishing out eight assists to BSU's three and recording nine steals and forcing 13 turnovers. The Bobcats capitalized on those Cardinal turnovers, scoring 13 points off of them.
Ohio also scored 16 points in the paint and 13 second chance points. The Bobcats also held Ball State to its lowest first half score of the season.
Taylor opened the second half up hitting two free throws to put the Bobcats up 22 early on. Ball State and the Bobcats then went on to trade baskets throughout the next five minutes, before the Cardinals cut the Ohio lead to 50-36 at the 10:44 mark.
Gollon stopped the Ball State run with a three pointer at the 10:09 mark. Then, after a field goal from Ball State, a layup and a thunderous dunk from Taylor gave the Bobcats a commanding 57-38 lead with 9:09 to go on the game.
That would be as close as the Cardinals would get the remainder of the game, with the Bobcats taking a 23-point lead with 3:40 to go.
For Ball State, the Cardinals were led by Tayler Persons, who scored 16 points, going 7-for-17 from the field. K.J. Walton and Zach Gunn both added 10 points, while Trey Moses grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
More on Ball State HERE
NEXT:
Tuesday, Jan. 15 – 7 p.m.
Kent State at Ohio
Ball State at Bowling Green