Ball State Leading Scorers
T1. Franko House - 11
T1. Francis Kiapway - 11
T3. Bo Calhoun - 10
T3. Jeremie Tyler - 10
T3. Sean Sellers - 10
Ball State's attack was led by a balanced scoring effort as the Cardinals had five players score double-digits. Senior forward Bo Calhoun and junior forward Franko House combined for 21 points and 21 rebounds, leading the way for Ball State.
“The thing about playing [Calhoun and House] together is that they both can hurt you inside,” head coach James Whitford said. “It makes it very easy to flip rolls and get better looks.”
Intensity filled the atmosphere at Worthen Arena, as a season-high 5,160 fans filled the stadium for the '#MuncieOut.'
The Cardinals' lineup fed off of the energy throughout the game.
“Man, I was hype when I walked into Worthen and saw all these people,” sophomore guard Francis Kiapway said. “It really gave us that edge to pull out the win.”
Tied at 24 to start the second half, Ball State went on an 8-0 run and never looked back.
House and true freshman forward Trey Moses fouled out later in the half and Northern Illinois clipped the lead to six, 53-47 with 3:45 left.
“We were in big trouble,” Whitford said. “With House and Moses fouled out and Weber sitting the rest of the game with his eye injury, our guys had to step up and play roles they aren’t used to playing.”
Senior forward Nate Wells checked into the game for House and drew contact that sent him to the free-throw line. After missing his second free throw, Calhoun pulled down the offensive rebound and found Kiapway, who proceeded to drain the 3-point shot to give the Cardinals a 57-47 lead.
While Northern Illinois would cut the lead back down, Ball State prevailed onward to victory.
Ball State has won three straight conference games for the first time in league play, improving its record to 18-9 and 9-5 in the MAC.
The Cardinals retained their lead atop the MAC West and is tied with Kent State for the second-best conference record.
Many experts picked Ball State to finish at the bottom of the MAC this season, but with only four games left, the Cardinals are competing for one of the top seeds in the conference tournament.
“We just have to continue to work hard. I mean, we were finished to pick last in the MAC,” Bo Calhoun said. “So, there really isn’t that much pressure, we know what we have to do down the stretch.”
Ball State returns to action on Feb. 23 at Toledo (16-10, 7-6 MAC). Tip-off begins at 8 p.m. in Toledo, Ohio.
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