Ball State University senior guard Peyton Stovall, without his normal shooting touch, found a way to put a solid finishing touch to his Worthen Arena career Tuesday night.
In the final two minutes of Ball State's 69-63 victory against Northern Illinois University (6-20, 3-11 MAC) Tuesday, Stovall scored a fast-break layup, drew an offensive foul and grabbed a key offensive rebound after a missed free throw to help the Cardinals (6-22, 5-10 MAC) hold off a late charge by the Huskies.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Ball State and ensured the Cardinals will avoid the cellar of the Mid-American Conference West Division. Ball State holds a 1.5 game advantage on the Huskies with one game left on the Cardinals' schedule.
Stovall credited his teammates' play for the victory.
"I didn't go at this game alone," Stovall said. "Every bucket that went in, I felt like my team put them in for me. Everybody came ready to play today."
Cardinals' coach Billy Taylor said Stovall's late surge proved his worth.
"Peyton is a very versatile player," Taylor said. "We've asked a lot of him this year. He's done it all with a smile on his face. It shows his development as a player."
Stovall finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds on the night, notching his third double-double of the season and passing former teammate Skip Mills for 11th place all-time in Ball State scoring.
Entering the season, Stovall had never recorded double digits in rebounds in a game.
"I've just been going to the boards," Stovall said. "I want every rebound."
Junior forward Anthony Newell led the Cardinals with 23 points, shooting 9-of-18 from the field, while grabbing six rebounds. Newell compiled nine of his points in the opening 6:11 of the second half as Ball State expanded a 32-30 halftime advantage to 47-38. Northern Illinois was unable to cut the Cardinals' lead to less than four points after that time.
"It wasn't my focus to come out and score, but the shots were there," Newell said.
Newell had struggled from the field during Ball State's losing streak, but he said the shooting slump helped him focus coming into the game against the Huskies.
"Being in a slump makes you a better player," Newell said, "You work harder."
Ball State got support off the bench from guards Laron Frazier and Melvin Goins. Frazier had 10 points while Goins, making his second bench appearance of the season, added eight points and four assists without a turnover.
Northern Illinois shot 51 percent from the field compared to Ball State's 40 percent, but the Cardinals were able to overcome being outshot by forcing 16 Huskies' turnovers. Ball State turned the ball over three times, the second-lowest mark ever in a MAC game. The Cardinals had two turnovers in a game against Miami University on March 7, 2002, to set the league record.
"I thought our guards did a good job of taking care of the ball," Taylor said.
Huskies' coach Ricardo Patton said he felt his team did a decent job defensively against the Cardinals. Patton said his defensive game plan was to keep Ball State from getting to the basket.
"They ended up making 3's that hurt us," Patton said.
Ball State made eight 3-pointers in the game, led by Newell, who drained three shots from beyond the arc.
The Cardinals' victory assures them the 10th seed in the upcoming MAC tournament. Ball State's final regular season contest will be Sunday afternoon at MAC West Division champions Western Michigan University.
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