Tuesday, February 7
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
8-16,3-8MAC
51
vs
65
Ball State
17-7,8-3MAC
1
2
F
Ball St.
37
28
65
Central Mich.
31
20
51
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Ball State Defeats Men's Basketball 65-51
2/7/2023 9:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Brian Taylor scores a game-high 20 points for the second straight game; Chippewas put up strong defensive effort in holding Ball State to 65 points, but shoot just 33.9 percent (19-56) from the floor and total a season-low 51 points.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Central Michigan put up a strong overall defensive effort, but shot just 33.9 percent from the floor and tied a season-low with 51 points as it dropped a 65-51 home loss to Ball State Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena. With the win, Ball State improved to 17-7 on the year and 8-3 in the MAC, while Central Michigan drops to 8-16 overall and 3-8 in MAC play.
On the defensive end, the Chippewas held Ball State below their season averages for scoring and field goal percentage. The Cardinals were held to 65 points, 11 points below their average, and 45.7 percent shooting (21-46). But it wasn't enough for Central Michigan, which scored a season-low 51 points and converted just 33.9 percent (19-56) of its field goals.
"Today, I thought we played two really good halves defensively," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "The guys fought, they played hard, and we competed for 40 minutes. If we play like that every game the rest of the way, we'll give ourselves a chance. But offensively, individuals have got to play better. How many one-footers did we miss? How many wide open jump shots did we miss? We have to be better individually on offense. I can't design an offense that gets us better looks than what we're doing. You've got to be able to complete plays. Tonight, we put two halves together of competing and defending, but it wasn't enough offensively."
Senior Brian Taylor provided the lone offensive bright spot for the Chippewas. For the second consecutive game, Taylor led Central Michigan with 20 points as he converted 8-16 field goals and also grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore Markus Harding added 11 points on 5-9 shooting.
Ball State was led by five players in double figure scoring. Mickey Pearson led the Cardinals with 13 points, Jarron Coleman and Jaylin Sellers both scored 12, Payton Sparks finished with 11 points, and Basheer Jihad added 10.
Ball State held a 37-31 halftime lead and kept CMU at bay the rest of the way.
The Chippewas started the second half off with an alley-oop dunk by Taylor. Taylor scored again on a driving layup to pull CMU within two points (37-35). But Ball State answered with a 3-point play by Pearson, a corner 3-pointer by Pearson, and a Payton Sparks free throw to extend its lead to nine points (44-35) with 14:34 to go.
Central Michigan cut Ball State's lead down to five points (50-45) on two Reggie Bass free throws with 9:22 to play. But that was as close as the Chippewas came as Ball State responded with a 7-0 run, all on free throws to push the lead back up to 10 points (56-46) with 5:47 to go.
Another 6-0 Ball State run gave the Cardinals a commanding 64-50 lead with 36 seconds to play.
Central Michigan got off to a good start by opening the game with a 12-5 lead. Taylor hit a jumper and Harding scored on an offensive rebound putback, Harding swished a 3-pointer, a give-and-go layup by Harding from Bass made it 9-5 and then Taylor followed with a jump stop 3-pointer for the 12-5 advantage.
CMU used a 7-0 run to build a small lead as Taylor scored on a driving layup, Amani Drummond converted a 3-pointer, then Drummond stole the ball and dribbled the length of the floor for a layup and 21-15 lead with 8:45 to play in the first half.
But Ball State went on an 11-0 run over a three-minute span to go up 26-21 . A CMU free throw off a technical foul ended the rally. Payton Sparks started the rally with two free throws, Sparks followed with a layup, Mickey Pearson hit a layup, Jaylin Sellers scored on a dunk, and Sellers hit a 3-pointer for a five-point lead with 5:31 to play in the first half. A Demarius Jacobs 3-pointer gave the Cardinals a 30-24 lead at the 3:41 mark.
Back-to-back dunks by Taylor and Harding pulled the Chippewas within four points (32-28), but a dunk by Jihad with 10 seconds left gave Ball State a 37-31 halftime lead.
Making the start for Central Michigan was Taylor, Bass, Majerle, Harding, and Ola Ajiboye. For the second straight game, junior guard Jesse Zarzuela did not play.
"Our best players are out in sweatsuits," Barbee said. "Missing Kevin Miller, an all-league player, we have missed him all year long. You don't understand how good Emil (Skytta) is. He's got a chance to be one of our top three players. Obviously, the injury with Jesse's hand, you're taking a guy who is a veteran player who is capable of going for 30 points in any game. Clearly that hurts."
The contest was one of a three-game stretch against the top 3-4 teams in the league. During that stretch, the Chippewas have shown some bright spots.
"In the previous two games, we played two great halves: the first half against Kent State, second half against Toledo," Barbee said. "The teams in our league are too good to play one half against."
Next up, Central Michigan plays two road games at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Feb. 11 (3:30 p.m.) and at Bowling Green on Tuesday, Feb. 14 (7 p.m.).
On the defensive end, the Chippewas held Ball State below their season averages for scoring and field goal percentage. The Cardinals were held to 65 points, 11 points below their average, and 45.7 percent shooting (21-46). But it wasn't enough for Central Michigan, which scored a season-low 51 points and converted just 33.9 percent (19-56) of its field goals.
"Today, I thought we played two really good halves defensively," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "The guys fought, they played hard, and we competed for 40 minutes. If we play like that every game the rest of the way, we'll give ourselves a chance. But offensively, individuals have got to play better. How many one-footers did we miss? How many wide open jump shots did we miss? We have to be better individually on offense. I can't design an offense that gets us better looks than what we're doing. You've got to be able to complete plays. Tonight, we put two halves together of competing and defending, but it wasn't enough offensively."
Senior Brian Taylor provided the lone offensive bright spot for the Chippewas. For the second consecutive game, Taylor led Central Michigan with 20 points as he converted 8-16 field goals and also grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore Markus Harding added 11 points on 5-9 shooting.
Ball State was led by five players in double figure scoring. Mickey Pearson led the Cardinals with 13 points, Jarron Coleman and Jaylin Sellers both scored 12, Payton Sparks finished with 11 points, and Basheer Jihad added 10.
Ball State held a 37-31 halftime lead and kept CMU at bay the rest of the way.
The Chippewas started the second half off with an alley-oop dunk by Taylor. Taylor scored again on a driving layup to pull CMU within two points (37-35). But Ball State answered with a 3-point play by Pearson, a corner 3-pointer by Pearson, and a Payton Sparks free throw to extend its lead to nine points (44-35) with 14:34 to go.
Central Michigan cut Ball State's lead down to five points (50-45) on two Reggie Bass free throws with 9:22 to play. But that was as close as the Chippewas came as Ball State responded with a 7-0 run, all on free throws to push the lead back up to 10 points (56-46) with 5:47 to go.
Another 6-0 Ball State run gave the Cardinals a commanding 64-50 lead with 36 seconds to play.
Central Michigan got off to a good start by opening the game with a 12-5 lead. Taylor hit a jumper and Harding scored on an offensive rebound putback, Harding swished a 3-pointer, a give-and-go layup by Harding from Bass made it 9-5 and then Taylor followed with a jump stop 3-pointer for the 12-5 advantage.
CMU used a 7-0 run to build a small lead as Taylor scored on a driving layup, Amani Drummond converted a 3-pointer, then Drummond stole the ball and dribbled the length of the floor for a layup and 21-15 lead with 8:45 to play in the first half.
But Ball State went on an 11-0 run over a three-minute span to go up 26-21 . A CMU free throw off a technical foul ended the rally. Payton Sparks started the rally with two free throws, Sparks followed with a layup, Mickey Pearson hit a layup, Jaylin Sellers scored on a dunk, and Sellers hit a 3-pointer for a five-point lead with 5:31 to play in the first half. A Demarius Jacobs 3-pointer gave the Cardinals a 30-24 lead at the 3:41 mark.
Back-to-back dunks by Taylor and Harding pulled the Chippewas within four points (32-28), but a dunk by Jihad with 10 seconds left gave Ball State a 37-31 halftime lead.
Making the start for Central Michigan was Taylor, Bass, Majerle, Harding, and Ola Ajiboye. For the second straight game, junior guard Jesse Zarzuela did not play.
"Our best players are out in sweatsuits," Barbee said. "Missing Kevin Miller, an all-league player, we have missed him all year long. You don't understand how good Emil (Skytta) is. He's got a chance to be one of our top three players. Obviously, the injury with Jesse's hand, you're taking a guy who is a veteran player who is capable of going for 30 points in any game. Clearly that hurts."
The contest was one of a three-game stretch against the top 3-4 teams in the league. During that stretch, the Chippewas have shown some bright spots.
"In the previous two games, we played two great halves: the first half against Kent State, second half against Toledo," Barbee said. "The teams in our league are too good to play one half against."
Next up, Central Michigan plays two road games at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Feb. 11 (3:30 p.m.) and at Bowling Green on Tuesday, Feb. 14 (7 p.m.).
—CMU—
Team Stats
BSU
CMU
FG%
.457
.339
3FG%
.294
.222
FT%
.750
.750
RB
37
29
TO
16
13
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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