Nov. 21, 2009

Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State made its free throws down the stretch and held on for a 57-47 victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

SIUE fell to 0-4 in a men's basketball game that was much closer than it ended. The Cougars held a four-point lead early in the second half and were down by four with just 1:11 left to play.

The Cougars had to begin to put Ball State on the free throw line late to get quicker opportunities on the offensive end, but Ball State's Jawaun Scaife hit 9 of 10 in the second half to hold SIUE off. The Cardinals, 2-0, scored their final seven free throws in the final minute of the game.

SIUE Coach Lennox Forrester said Ball State's offensive rebounds were a problem. Ball State collected 17 offensive rebounds. "They killed us off the glass," said Forrester.

The Cougars were tied 24-24 at halftime, mostly off the offensive efforts of David Boarden. The sophomore transfer hit three three-pointers in the first half and finished as SIUE's only player in double figures with 14 points.

"He did a great job of coming off the bench. He kept us in the game the first half," said Forrester.

Jarrod Jones scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Ball State. His inside play kept the Cougar defense off-balance with 7-of-10 shooting.

SIUE also had to make multiple adjustments on defense when starter Nikola Bundalo and fellow post players Dobrivoje Mavrak and Zeke Schneider got into foul trouble in both the first half and early in the second half. "We just have to stay out of foul trouble," Forrester added.

SIUE's defense kept Ball State to 33.3 percent shooting and 25 percent shooting from three-point range. The difference in the end was Ball State's 30 trips to the free throw line, hitting 19. SIUE didn't take advantage of its handful of chances on the free throw line as it had over the first three games of the season. SIUE finished 5 of 9 from the charity stripe.

The Cougars now have a full week off before returning to the Vadalabene Center to play host to Lipscomb. Game time is 2 p.m. next Saturday.

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