Ball State Beats EIU in Men's Basketball

MUNCIE, Ind. – Some timely 3-point shooting by Ball State midway through the second half lifted it to a 73-56 win over Eastern Illinois on Monday night at Worthen Arena.

Ball State led 36-32 at the half as both teams shot below 40 percent in the opening half.  EIU cut that lead to three points on a bucket by A.J. Riley with 16:11 to play.  Riley was one of two EIU players to finish in double figures with a game high 21 points.
Francis Kiapway had the hot hand at the right time for the Cardinals as he converted a four-point play at 12:43 to push the BSU lead to ten points at 47-37.  Riley knocked down a 3-pointer for EIU only to be answered by another Kiapway 3-pointer as he had 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.

Marshawn Blackmon’s 3-pointer with 10:55 cut the Ball State lead to single digits at 52-45.  Jeremie Tyler hit a 3-pointer for BSU and the Cardinals never let EIU get closer than ten points the rest of the night.  BSU was 4-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half.
EIU built a six point lead in the first half with Trae Anderson knocking down a pair of free throws at 9:53 which ended a 6-0 run by the Panthers.  Cornell Johnston had a pair of free throws and a bucket by Patrick Muldoon during the run.

Anderson added 20 points for the Panthers going 8-for-11 at the free throw line.   EIU was 19-of-27 as a team from the charity stripe.
Ball State won the battle on the glass by a 43-32 margin as the Cardinals snapped an 18-game losing skid dating back to last season.  Bo Calhoun led BSU with 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Sean Sellers had 13 points and 10 rebounds as Ball State improved to 1-1.
EIU fell to 0-2 on the season and will host Western Illinois on Saturday night at 7 p.m.