Team Statistics
Points: 61
Field Goals: 23-54 (42.6 percent)
3-Point Field Goals: 8-20 (40 percent)
Free Throws: 7-15 (46.7 percent)
The Cardinals had a 3-point lead after sophomore guard Francis Kiapway sank a pair of free throws with 2.3 seconds left on the clock.
Muncie Central alumnus Nick Osborne, an IUPUI junior, caught the inbound pass just past half-court and quickly passed to senior guard Mason Archie at the center of the court. Archie’s shot beat the buzzer but hit the lower left corner of the backboard to seal the Ball State victory.
Senior forward Bo Calhoun credited the victory, along with the Nov. 28 3-point win against Valparaiso, to offseason training.
“Last year, a lot of our games came down to the last minute — we couldn’t finish,” Calhoun said. “We took that into the summertime, focused on that, and it’s showing now.”
Throughout the night, the Cardinals limited the Jaguars to 38.7 percent from the floor, in large part because of 10 team blocks. Freshman forward Trey Moses totaled four blocks while junior forward Franko House, redshirt senior guard Jeremiah Davis and 7-foot-1 redshirt senior center Nate Wells recorded two each.
Junior guard Ryan Weber, who led the Cardinals with 12 points, credited the interior presence of the team, which allowed Ball State to defend on the perimeter.
“It’s not like we’re letting guys go right past us, but we kinda know if they get a step on us. … We’ve got guys like [Moses] and [Wells] and our big guys that can step over and make plays on the ball,” Weber said. “It definitely is a confidence boost on the defense and gives our team the freedom to get out and pressure a little bit more.”
With 6:32 remaining in the second half, Davis came flying in from behind IUPUI freshman T.J. Henderson and slammed the ball off the glass.
Sophomore guard Jeremie Tyler recovered the block and promptly scored 3 points with 6:23 on the clock to extend lead to 50-40.
It was Tyler, not junior guard Naiel Smith, that saw more minutes late in the game, a decision head coach James Whitford made based on the circumstance.
“We have a lead and we’re going to try to use a little clock at that point and we’re going to be in a position where we need someone to make a play late, and that [Tyler] does really well,” Whitford said. “That’s why we went with [Tyler] down the stretch despite going with [Smith] for the majority of the game, because we thought [Smith] played better, but [Tyler] fit the need better at that time.”
Ball State was outrebounded by IUPUI 42-35, and despite the win, Whitford said his team could play even better.
“I was proud of our team for not playing our best and still managing to eke it out by defending at a really high level and competing down the stretch,” Whitford said.
Ball State's next game is at 2 p.m. Dec. 5 as it hosts New Orleans University.
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