Worthen Arena was rocking today as the Cardinals flew higher than the Redhawks.
This season’s edition of the Redbird rivalry started with a victory from Ball State (12-5, 3-1 MAC) as they defeated Miami (OH) (7-10, 1-3 MAC).
In what was the second game of a doubleheader following the women’s dominating victory early on, Ball State bounced back from a road loss at Ohio on Tuesday. Head Coach Michael Lewis added that his team came with a different mindset today.
“We weren't there. We weren't engaged in the game [Tuesday]. I thought today we came out with a better purpose to compete and play the way that we want to play.” he said.
One of the reasons for the flipping of the script today was fewer turnovers. On Tuesday, Ball State recorded a season-high 22 turnovers. Today? A season-low of 7. Having senior guard Demarius Jacobs back in the starting lineup (left Tuesday with a mild concussion) was instrumental.
“I'm glad that DJ was healthy to come out and play today. I think he does a lot of things for us from the lead guard position.” Lewis said. “I think the guys play with more confidence when he's on the floor and he just impacts the game in a lot of different ways.”
The large crowd played a role in the victory this afternoon, filling the air with their cheers, boos and, of course, the ‘Tater Tot’ chants.
Sophomore guard Jaylin Sellers echoes this thought, saying he loves the support.
“It feels good. It feels good when you know you have a town behind you, the students behind you, everybody behind you. You feel good.” he said.
Sellers, who posted only six points in the loss Tuesday, recorded a team-high 15 points on 43.8 % shooting (7-16 FG). He pumped the crowd up with some emphatic slams.
Lewis, who enticed the student section with free concessions this season, was proud of the showing tonight, adding that this is something the team needs.
“It's an exciting thing to see a community get behind a team,” he said. “Hopefully, they like what they see, I think these guys are competing at a level that they deserve a backing like that.”
Sophomore forward Basheer Jihad posted a career-high 12 points off the bench on 83 percent shooting (5-of-6). He took advantage of what the game gave him in his limited minutes.
“I'm just trying to do everything I can to impact winning, let the game come to me not trying to take it…Obviously, we wanted to bounce back from the last game and play how we felt we were capable of, so just getting back on a roll is good,” he said.
While the Cardinals led by 13+ for most of the game, for a few minutes in the middle of the second half Miami closed the gap, capitalizing on a scoring drought from Ball State. This was partly due to veteran guards Jarron Coleman and Demarius Jacobs being sidelined with foul trouble.
After Lewis inserted them back into the game, Ball State pulled away.
“Whether they're freshmen or seniors, it's turning into more and more of a guards game and those guys gotta make plays, and they made the right decisions. [Jacobs and Coleman] have played a lot of college basketball.”
Ball State is back in Worthen on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. as they take on the visiting Western Michigan Broncos (5-11, 1-2 MAC).
Contact Derran Cobb with comments at derran.cobb@bsu.edu or on Twitter @Derran_cobb.
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