Men's basketball
Winter Break record: 3-3
Winter Break conference record: 0-1
Wins: vs. North Carolina Central (59-45), vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (56-47), vs. Manchester (69-55)
Losses: No. 4 Purdue (69-49 at Wooden Tradition), at Dayton (59-35), vs. Northern Illinois (62-48)
Dec. 19: No. 4 Purdue 69, Ball State 49
Purdue, ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time, had no problems dealing with Ball State, as the Boilermakers topped the Cardinals 69-49. The game was played at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as part of the annual John R. Wooden Tradition event, named in honor of the living legend men's basketball coach. Purdue looked like a Final Four team in the first half, connecting on 14-of-29 (.483) shots from the field and holding Ball State to 7-of-22 (.318) shooting in the period as the Boilers had the game in check at the half with a 38-15 lead. Ball State played with more confidence in the second half, outscoring Purdue 34-31 and improving its shooting to an 11-for-20 (.550) clip in the period. The Cardinals also limited the Boilermakers to just 4-of-23 (.174) shooting from 3-point land for the game. Three Cardinals scored in double-digits, led by sophomore center Jarrod Jones's 16 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Terrence Watson had 12 points, while freshman guard Jauwan Scaife added 10. Purdue was paced by junior forward Robbie Hummel's 19 points.
Dec. 21: Ball State 59, North Carolina Central 45
With improved confidence from the second half of the Purdue game — and a three-game homestand to look forward to — Ball State defeated North Carolina Central 59-45 in front of 2,873 fans at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals dominated in the paint, outscoring the Eagles 36-18 under the basket as Ball State's three-headed monster of forwards — Jones, Watson and Malik Perry — combined to score 45 of Ball State's 59 points and grabbed 19 total rebounds. Jones did it all against the Eagles, earning a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) and adding three assists and two steals. Perry had a game-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Watson had 12 points and three offensive rebounds. Ball State remained efficient in the second half on offense, converting 55 percent (11-for-20) of its shots for the second game in a row. Dijon Manns led North Carolina Central with 13 points.
Dec. 28: Ball State 56, Maryland Eastern Shore 47
Ball State had a tougher time in its next game against Maryland Eastern Shore, but the Cardinals were led by sophomore guard Randy Davis's 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. The Cardinals shot an uncharacteristic 5-for-5 from 3-point land to defeat the Hawks 56-47 in front of 2,903 fans at Worthen Arena. Jones, the reigning co-Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, collected his second-straight double-double, as he scored 12 points and had 12 rebounds. Davis and Scaife added 11 points apiece and Jones and Watson each had three blocks apiece as Maryland Eastern Shore was forced to take its offense beyond the 3-point line, where it only converted 5-of-18 (.278) attempts. The Cardinals had to overcome a 9-0 second-half run by the Hawks, who took a 36-32 lead with 13:21 remaining in regulation. But Davis hit a 3 for Ball State and ignited an 11-2 run for the Cardinals that gave the home team its second-straight win. Hillary Haley led the Hawks with 13 points, 11 of which were in the first half.
Dec. 31: Ball State 69, Manchester 55
Ball State ended its 2009 portion of the schedule with a matchup against Manchester College, an NCAA Division III team. Ball State had its most productive half of offense all season in the first, connecting on 18-of-26 (.692) of its shots from the field. But the pesky Spartans, the undeniable underdogs, hung on with six first-half 3-pointers and trailed the Cardinals 42-29 at the half. Ball State seemingly had the game in hand for most of the second half, leading by as many as 22 points, but Manchester cut the lead to nine before Ball State was finally able to pull away for the 14-point win. Jones collected his third-straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Perry added 11 points and Scaife had eight points and five assists. Tyler Delauder led the Spartans with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3.
Jan. 5: Dayton 59, Ball State 35
Ball State entered UD Arena in Dayton with a Billy Taylor era-high three-game winning streak, but left taking a huge step back with a 59-35 loss in front of a packed crowd of 13,167. The 35-point effort was the lowest point total by Ball State since the 1946 matchup at Manchester. The Cardinals shot a dismal 12-of-43 (.279) from the field against the Flyers, who converted 23-of-51 (.451) of their shots. Ball State was overmatched in physicality, speed and athleticism to Dayton, who received votes in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today top 25 polls. The Flyers outscored the Cardinals 26-2 in fast break points and 22-14 in the paint. Watson led Ball State with eight points, while senior guard Brawley Chisholm added seven points. For Dayton, forward Chris Wright had 10 points, as 12 players scored in the game for the Flyers.
Jan. 9: Northern Illinois 62, Ball State 48
If the Dayton game was a huge step back for the Cardinals, then their 62-48 loss to visiting Northern Illinois to start MAC play might have put the team back at square one. Chisholm, fouled on a missed 3-point attempt with two seconds left in the first half, hit all three of his free throws to give Ball State a 26-24 lead going into halftime. The Cardinals wouldn't sniff the lead again, though, as the Huskies opened the second half on a 9-0 run. Mix that with Ball State's 6-for-31 (.194) second-half shooting percentage, and Northern Illinois turned what was a competitive first-half contest into a laugher in front of Ball State's home crowd. Perry led Ball State with 14 points and seven rebounds, but the bigger story was the play — or lack thereof — of Jones, who had seven first-half points and didn't score in the second half as he sat 12 of the 20 minutes with only two fouls. Xavier Silas dominated the second half and finished with 25 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies. For Ball State, the combination of its inept offense has it searching for answers heading into its first league road game Wednesday at Central Michigan.
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