With a student enrollment approximately 10 times larger than its opponent, Ball State may seem like the Goliath to Tiffin’s David. It showed Tuesday on the basketball court. The Cardinals (4-3, 0-0 MAC) took down the Dragons (2-3, 0-0 GMAC) 108-62. Five Cardinals reached double-figures in the scoring column to combine for 81 points. Here’s a description of each of their performances.
Tayler Persons
No surprise here. Persons finished the game with 20 points to lead the Cardinals. Persons has led Ball State in scoring since he started playing in Muncie during the 2016-17 season. He has performed at his highest level offensively through seven games this year, averaging 17.7 points per game. Persons has also had his best season passing the ball so far as well, dishing out 5.4 assists a game. He added six more to his name Tuesday.
Trey Moses
Moses has recorded 20 double-doubles in his career, and Tuesday was the first of his senior season. To go along with a season-high 14 points, Moses grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and blocked three shots in 26 minutes of play. After being limited in the first two games with a right knee injury, he has picked it up, averaging more than eight points and boards per game since. It looks like Moses is back – meaning back to his 11.3-point, 8.2-rebound a game ways of 2017-18.
Zach Gunn
Gunn, the only Cardinal in double-figure off the bench, also reached a career high Tuesday but in points. He went 5 of 6 from the field including 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point line to end the game with 17 points. Gunn also tied his personal best in rebounds with eight. Gunn played a significant amount of his minutes in the second half with the Cardinals comfortably ahead. All but one of his points were scored in the second half.
K.J. Walton
Walton has scored in double-figures in six of the Cardinals’ seven games this season, so his 15-point performance against the Dragons could have been expected. Not only is Walton scoring, but he’s doing it efficiently. He’s second on the team in field-goal percentage at .557. Tuesday was no different as he made 7 of 9 shots. He almost had a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds.
Tahjai Teague
As the Cardinals’ third-leading scorer, Teague also dropped 15 points on the Dragons. Teague’s scoring patterns have been similar to Walton’s: efficient scoring. Tuesday, Teague went 7 of 10 from the field. While his points per game are a touch below Walton’s, Teague is shooting almost 100 percentage points better. This was Teague’s fourth game in double-figures this season.
Contact Zach Piatt with comments at zapiatt@bsu.edu or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.
Read More
The closure of the historic Mark III Tap Room impacts Muncie’s LGBTQ+ community.
By Meghan Holt / 0 minutes agoPatrons of the oldest gay bar in Indiana reflect on how it affected their lives.
A 40-year alliance: Brian Dudley is a staple with Wapahani baseball
By Zach Carter / 1 hours agoBrian Dudley spent 40 years as the Wapahani varsity baseball coach and finished his career with an 828-320 record.
Top-seeded Cardinals’ postseason run ends with upset loss to Lindenwood
By Adam Altobella / 11 hours agoNo. 10 Ball State was upset by No. 18 Lindenwood in a five-set battle (25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 11-15) on the Cardinals’ home court Thursday night. With how scarce at-large bids to the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament are, it is likely that the red and white’s 2024 campaign is over.
