Ball State overcame an early deficit and two attempted comebacks by IUPUI to get a hard fought 80-73 victory at Worthen Arena on Saturday. The win was the Cardinals' second in a row, and brings their record to 4-2.
IUPUI (4-3) scored the game's first 10 points, including two Brandon Cole three-pointers, leading BSU coach Tim Buckley to immediately made a complete lineup switch.
"They hit some crazy shots," senior guard Dennis Trammell said. "The first shot was, in my opinion. I felt we were focused, we came to play. It's just sometimes when teams hit shots like that we get separated. We don't come closer together, and that's what probably hurt us."
Jesse McClung and Anthony Kent scored the Cardinals first four points on lay-ups. Dennis Trammell and Peyton Stovall each then hit two threes, with a Michael Bennett lay-up to go up 18-14 in the following five minutes.
"Unfortunately, I felt we had to search," Buckley said. "I think that's part of the process, and that's part of getting better and hopefully we continue to do that. But we've got to have 10 or 11 guys on the same page every time we tip it up, because that makes you a better team."
The Cardinals carried the momentum on for much of the first half, building up a 17-point lead with 5:44 remaining in the first half. The Jaguars whittled it down to 42-35 heading into halftime.
"It made us mad," Trammell said. "We just got to keep learning from those situations. We had a big lead twice in that game, we had two good chances to put them away, and we didn't capitalize."
IUPUI closed the gap to 50-47 with 12:57 remaining in the second half, but that was as close as the Jaguars would get.
Trammell scored a lay-up and a three-pointer on consecutive possessions to bump the lead back to eight. Kent added a lay-up, and Terrance Chapman took a steal in for a dunk but was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
Cole made two free throws; the Cards went on a 7-0 run.
"I thought both teams did well," IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said. "We jumped on them early, they came back. We didn't have enough time. I thought if the game had gone on another three or four minutes, we would have been there."
The game was a physical affair, with 50 fouls called on the two teams. IUPUI's George Hill and Akeem Clark and BSU's Trammell all fouled out. "I've been in more physical games," Trammell said, "but it was real physical."
The Cardinals capitalized on the fouls by going 25 of 33 from the free-throw line.
"I thought we were on the attack," Buckley said. "That was really the focal point of the offense today, because we weren't always sure what defense they were in.
"I thought our guys were aggressive, I thought we were driving in the lane, and when they were going up they were going up strong and trying to get three-point plays with it."
For the fourth game in a row, Chapman, Stovall and Trammell scored in double figures, and Chapman was one rebound short of a double-double.
The Cardinals shot 24-46 from the field, their second game shooting above 50 percent, despite IUPUI's ever-changing defense.
"That's a crazy type defense they've got," Trammell said. "We just wanted to keep attacking it, because half the time we didn't know what they were in, what they were running."
"This was fun," Hunter said. "Out of all of the places I go to, I love coming here to coach. I think the atmosphere is incredible. I think your students are a little weird, but they're nice kids. Maybe they're too smart for me. They were saying things I didn't even understand. This is just a great atmosphere for college basketball. I love this place."
The Cardinals host Indiana State on Saturday. The Sycamores are coming off a 57-54 win over Butler.
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