Despite a competitive first half, Central Michigan pulled away from the Ball State men's basketball team in the second half to win 83-60.
“It is what it is,” head coach James Whitford said. “They played a great game; they’re so explosive offensively.”
Central Michigan (20-5, 9-4 MAC) avenged its loss against Ball State in early January.
The Cardinals and Chippewas exchanged buckets for what was a competitive first half.
Both teams shot at least 50 percent from the field in the first half, with the Cardinals shooting 50 percent and the Chippewas shooting 64 percent.
Central Michigan, who ranks third in the country with 10.3 3-pointers per game, connected on seven triples while Ball State made five.
Freshman Sean Sellers hit four of his five 3-pointers on his way to 14 points in the first half.
A turnover from sophomore Zavier Turner led to a buzzer-beater by Chris Fowler, leading to a 41-36 Central Michigan advantage at the half.
“Much of the game we got shots inside-out,” Whitford said. “For the first 25 minutes we were very competitive.”
After halftime, the Cardinals did not look like the same team from the first 20 minutes.
Central Michigan came out strong behind Braylon Rayson's quick eight points to put the Chippewas up 54-44.
Trailing by 17, the Cardinals struggled to get a stop. They shot 2-10 from behind the arc in the second half, which allowed the Chippewas to pull away.
Sophomore Franko House and junior Bo Calhoun finished with 12 points and 11, respectively.
The Cardinals will play three of their final four regular season games at home with Western Michigan on Tuesday.
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