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MUNCIE, Ind.—Morehead State men’s basketball coach Donnie Tyndall must have given an inspirational halftime speech.
Tyndall’s Eagles more than doubled their first-half point total in the second half to earn a 50-48 non-conference victory at Ball State (Mid-Major No. 19) Monday night at Worthen Arena. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for MSU.
It was the fourth time this season the Eagles (13-8) have beaten a Mid-Major Top 25 team (Kent State, College of Charleston, Murray State). MSU ended Ball State’s perfect home 7-0 home record and stopped a seven-game winning streak for the Cardinals (13-5).
MSU surged in the second half, shooting 54.2 percent and 55.6 percent from three-point range. It was a complete turnaround from the first half, when the Eagles were 0-of-7 from long range in the first half, scoring the fewest points in one half in over three years.
Trailing by 10 at halftime, Morehead State rallied, scoring 35 second-half points, including a 12-5 start to the half. Even with the surge that turned an 11-point BSU lead into a seven-point Eagle advantage, MSU needed late heroics to hold on to the victory. Leading by six after a pair of Kenneth Faried free throws, Ball State point guard Randy Davis drew a pair of contact fouls in the final 1:37 and swished the free throws to pull the Cardinals within two. With just four seconds left, Jauwan Scaife lost control of the ball while trying to drive and Faried fell on the loose ball and tried to call timeout, but was whistled for travelling, giving BSU one final chance. Davis’ out of control layup attempt was off the mark however and MSU came away with its second win over a Mid-American Conference school this season.
Faried had his 16th double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to lead MSU. Demonte Harper dished out five assists. Faried was 4-of-6 from the field and 5-for-6 at the line, accounting for the majority of the Eagles’ 5-for-8 performance at the line off of 10 Ball State fouls.
Morehead State shot 44.4 percent from the field, outpacing Ball State’s 33.3 percent. The Cardinals also struggled from three-point range in the first half, hitting 12.5 percent, compared to 42.9 percent in the second half.
Jarrod Jones was also 4-of-6 from the field and 6-of-8 at the stripe to score 14 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds to lead BSU. Jauwan Scaife finished with 12 points. Ball State was 16-for-25 in charity tosses as a result of 20 MSU fouls.
Both teams were slow to score early in the first half, but a layup by Jones with 11:43 left gave BSU a five-point lead at 11-6. The Eagles surged over the next seven minutes, outscoring the Cardinals 9-5 to pull within one on a jumper by Faried. That was MSU’s last basket of the half though and BSU scored nine straight to end the half with a 10-point 25-15 lead.
Morehead State returns to conference play Thursday, hosting co-leader Tennessee State Thursday at 7:45 p.m. in Johnson Arena.
