MUNCIE, Ind. – A 14-0 stretch in the first half in the first half was the difference as Ball State defeated the University of Evansville men's basketball team by a final of 82-72 on Saturday inside Worthen Arena.
Shea Feehan led the Aces (2-3) with 19 points. He drained four 3-pointers in the game. Marty Hill and John Hall recorded 10 points apiece. Hall also led the team with 7 boards. Dainius Chatkevicius had 9 points and 6 rebounds. Leading the way for Ball State (3-3) was K.J. Walton, who scored 20. Nineteen of those came in the first half.
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"We did some good things today, but I am disappointed we lost the game. We are just not tough enough to start these games," Aces head coach Walter McCarty said. "Our guys have to be more locked in to start these games. We have to do a better job of rebounding the basketball as a unit. We are working at it."
Marty Hill got the Aces going on their first possession of the game, nailing a three. Ball State came back with a bucket before the Aces added two more scores to take a 7-2 lead. The Cardinals rallied to take their first lead at 10-9, but Shamar Givance was able to help Evansville retake the lead at 16-13 near the midway point of the half.
That is when BSU changed the game with a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to go up 27-16. K.J. Walton, who led everyone with 19 points in the first 20 minutes, had eight in the run. The BSU lead would reach 13 before the Aces got within seven (33-26) on a Shea Feehan triple. At the half, the Cardinals held a 37-26 edge.
Dainius Chatkevicius converted on the pick and roll in the opening possession of the second half to cut the deficit back into single digits. Ball State rebounded and added to the lead when a Zach Gunn trey gave them a 58-39 lead halfway through the final half before the Aces cut the deficit back to 12 at 61-49 on a runout by Marty Hill.
With just over six minutes remaining, BSU took its largest lead at 76-54 on a Kyle Mallers 3-pointer, but the Aces refused to give up. A 14-3 run cut the BSU lead in half at 79-68 with just under three minutes left. Evansville had a chance to get even closer, but a missed free throw and a turnover sealed the win for the Cardinals by the 82-72 final.
UE returns to the Ford Center on Wednesday evening to face Wyoming in the MVC/Mountain West Challenge. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
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