Nov. 25, 2008

Box Score
Ball State Postgame Press Conference
Milwaukee Postgame Press Conference

MILWAUKEE - Jarrod Jones scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures and Ball State shot 57.7 percent from the field as the Cardinals captured an 82-69 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

Anthony Hill had 17 points to lead three players in double figures for the Panthers (3-3), who shot just 37.5 percent from the field.

Brandon Lampley added 15 points, Anthony Newell 14 and Laron Frazier 12 for the Cardinals (3-1), who made 15 of their 23 shot attempts in the second half.

Ricky Franklin (15) and Avery Smith (12) were the other Panthers who reached double digits.

A long first-half dry spell put the Panthers down five at halftime and then UWM could never string together enough stops to complete a comeback in the second half.

"I thought they were very efficient," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said of the Cardinals. "They got the basketball where they needed to get it to in order to score the basketball and that's why they shot such a high percentage. We just can't try to outscore people - we have to get stops."

After leading by six points in the early going, the Panthers again reclaimed a 23-20 lead on a Tone Boyle three. But, it would turn out to be the last field goal of the half for Milwaukee, which failed to make a shot over the final 9:21.

UWM did actually still extend its lead, going up 28-23 on a pair of Hill free throws with 4:29 left. But, Ball State finished the half by scoring 10-straight points to claim a 33-28 edge. Meanwhile, the Panthers missed their final 11 shots in the half.

The Cardinals continued their hot shooting early in the second half, building the lead to 43-34 with just over 16 minutes to play. The Panthers did crawl back to within 49-45 on a three by Tony Meier with just over 12 minutes to play, and again were within four at 59-55 and 61-57. But, Ball State scored the next seven points to build an 11-point advantage and never gave up control after that.

"I was really proud of the way our guys were able to come out and play tonight against a tough, physical and aggressive Milwaukee team," Ball State coach Billy Taylor said. "I thought our guys really came out and tried to execute our game plan. They are a tough team to guard, but I thought our kids really tried to fight hard to make it difficult for them to score."

The Panthers return to action Saturday morning, making the short trip to Madison for a battle with #25 Wisconsin. The game starts at 11 a.m. CST.