Ball State has found comfort in visiting Mid-American Conference arenas all season long and Wednesday was no different.
The team won its third road game in conference play Wednesday, beating Northern Illinois 56-52 in the Convocation Center.
The Cardinals (10-13, 4-7 MAC) shot 36.4 percent (16-of-44) from the floor, but held the Huskies (5-17, 3-8 MAC) to a season-low 34.7 percent (17-of-49) in field goal defense.
Senior guard Jauwan Scaife led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game with 23 points. Freshman guard Marcus Posley joined him in double figures with 10 points.
Bench production bolstered the Northern Illinois offense with Antone Christian scoring a team-high 14 and Keith Gray adding 9 points.
The Huskies started the game on a 11-3 run, but a Majok Majok jumper with 12:58 left in the first half seemed to get the Cardinals going.
Ball State took a 17-16 lead just over five minutes later and rode it to a 28-25 lead at the half.
Both teams struggled to score to start the second half and Northern Illinois was able to take a 38-37 lead with 10:42 left in the game.
The game went back-and-forth down the stretch before the Cardinals knocked down 7-of-8 free throws in the final 35 seconds to seal the win.
Wednesday’s victory marked the first time Ball State has won two consecutive games in MAC play this season.
The team plays again on Saturday against Eastern Michigan at 2 p.m.
