Yes, Muncie, there is a winning streak.
Ball State University clawed past the University of Toledo 59-52 Sunday afternoon for its second straight win. The Cardinals, who improved to 5-19, 4-8 in the Mid-American Conference, had last posted consecutive wins on Jan. 16 and 19, 2007, almost 13 months ago.
"It's a great reward for them, because our guys have continued to work extremely hard," Ball State coach Billy Taylor said. "We played with great energy, which was important for us."
Toledo (8-16, 5-7 MAC), turned the ball over 18 times in the contest. Six of them came on steals by Cardinals' guard Melvin Goins, marking a career high for the freshman from Dallas.
"I just came out with a lot of energy tonight," Goins said. "My teammates played great help defense. It allowed me to get in the passing lane or do whatever I needed to do to steal the ball."
Goins' contributions weren't limited to the defensive end.
Twice in the first half, Goins hit 3-pointers with the shot clock running down. The two treys sparked Goins to 14 points for the game.
"I think those shots were some big shots," Goins said. "It gave us a lot of momentum to go on a little run before halftime and set the tempo for our team."
Later in the first half, senior guard Peyton Stovall added a 3-pointer of his own. Stovall shot five of seven from the field on his way to a team-high 15 points. It was Stovall's second straight game in double figures after having fallen short of double digits in the previous three games.
"Peyton's always been Peyton," freshman forward Malik Perry said. "Good or bad games, he's always been Peyton. He's a great player. He's not going to be in a dry spurt for longer than a couple of games."
Perry led the Cardinals in rebounding, grabbing a career-high 14, including nine offensive boards, despite not getting his usual offensive chances in the post.
"He really played with great character today," Taylor said. "Any time you're not getting the touches inside but you still get nine offensive rebounds, it really says a lot about you as a person. He really fought hard."
Perry said his rebounding prowess was a result of his understanding of what the Cardinals need him to do.
"I think I'm starting to learn my role on the team," Perry said. "We've gelled. Everybody is starting to learn their roles. If I get an opportunity to score, I'll score, but I want to focus on helping my team out on the glass and getting extra possessions."
Ball State's victory snapped a four-game Toledo winning streak against the Cardinals. Ball State is now one game out of third place in the MAC West Division.
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