Key players:
- Zavier Turner: 21 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals
- Jeremiah Davis: 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals
It had been five games since Ball State men’s basketball head coach James Whitford felt point guard Zavier Turner had played to the level he is capable.
Earlier in the week, Whitford met privately with Turner and challenged his young floor general to elevate his game.
Turner responded against Central Michigan on Saturday, shooting seven-of-10 from the field for a game-high 21 points, helping lead Ball State to an 83-65 win at Worthen Arena.
“I wasn’t really worried about anything,” Turner said. “I was just playing my game. They were playing off of me, so I was shooting.”
Since injuring his wrist on Dec. 17 in a loss to James Madison, Turner had struggled with his shot and ball security. His turnover ratio of 1:1 entering Saturday’s contest mirrored his up-and-down performance so far this season.
Against the Chippewas however, Turner played the role of ignitor and facilitator, finishing four-of-four from behind the arc, along with five assists and only two turnovers.
“Zavier knows [he hadn’t played well],” Whitford, whose team improved to 7-6, said. “He can shoot it well, not shoot it well, but he has to play well. He played great today.”
Along with Turner, redshirt junior Jeremiah Davis played his most complete game of the season. In his third game since returning from a foot injury Davis finished with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Since Davis returned to the lineup, Ball State has gone 3-0 and jumped out to a 2-0 record in the Mid-American Conference.
Davis’ ability to handle the ball has given Whitford the luxury of running the offense through him and given the Cardinals an element that was missing to start the year.
“[Davis is] kind of like a football team that didn’t have a tight end, giving them a tight end,” Whitford said. “It puts pressure on the defense in an area of the field that we haven’t been able to put pressure on people.”
Whitford said he was worried about his team’s ability to keep pace with a Central Michigan offense that entered averaging 86 points, but it was Ball State who dictated the game’s tempo. The Cardinals outscored the Chippewas 38-22 in the paint and eight-to-four on the fastbreak.
The score was close at intermission, with Ball State holding a 43-36 lead. The Cardinals shot 60 percent in the first half, but the Chippewas kept in striking distance, shooting 50 percent themselves.
“In the first half, there were five or six times where we didn’t communicate effectively, and each of those times they got good shots,” Whitford said. “In the second half, [the defense was] outstanding.”
Central Michigan shot 37.5 percent in the second half, while Ball State’s offense continued to roll at 55.6 percent.
Five Cardinals finished with double-digit points, including sophomore Franko House who finished with 13 points, five rebounds, an assist and a block.
“We talked, we communicated better than we ever did this year," House said. "Everybody was just into the game, into the moment, all about the team. It was just a good win.”
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