The Ball State University men's basketball team defeated Eastern Illinois 72-59 Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena in both team's season openers.
Coach Billy Taylor said he was satisfied to get win No. 1 this season under his belt early on.
"I'm really proud of our guys coming out and playing really well in this first game," Taylor said. "We came out with a lot of intensity, a lot of urgency early, and I thought that momentum carried us."
Ball State (1-0) was led by freshman center Jarrod Jones. In his first career game as a Cardinal, Jones led all players with 21 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Senior forward Anthony Newell added 19 points and six boards for Ball State, while senior guard Laron Frazier added nine points and junior guard Brawley Chisholm added eight coming off the bench.
For Eastern Illinois (0-1), four players broke double-digits in scoring led by junior guard Romain Martin with a team-high 17 points. Junior guard Dewayne Wright, Jr. and junior forward Edin Suljic added 12 points for the Panthers, while sophomore guard Tyler Laser had 10 points.
The Cardinals return to action Wednesday night at Butler University.
For complete men's basketball coverage, read Monday's edition of The Ball State Daily News.
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