A SHOCKER IN SOUTH BEND: Ball State takes down No. 8/9 Notre Dame
Tuesday’s Scoreboard
Ball State 80, Notre Dame 77
Central Michigan 75, Montana State 48
Missouri 70, Miami 51
Evansville 91, Bowling Green 76
Stories Courtesy of the Associated Press
Ball State 80, Notre Dame 77
Box Score
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Ball State had never come close against Notre Dame, let alone beat the Fighting Irish.
Both changed Tuesday night on Tayler Persons' left-wing 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining as the Cardinals shocked the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish 80-77 at Purcell Pavilion.
"I'm going to create shots for myself," Persons said after confidently dribbling down the clock against Rex Pflueger. "Just stay aggressive. I've always had the same mindset -- just hit more shots."
Persons scored 24 points, Tahjai Teague added 13 and Sean Sellers had 11 as Ball State knocked off a nationally ranked opponent for the first time since downing No. 4 UCLA 91-73 more than 16 years ago.
Notre Dame (7-2) lost a nonconference home game for the first time since falling to North Dakota State four years ago.
The Cardinals (5-4) led by a high of 67-58 with 6:45 to go, but the Irish charged all the way back to a 77-77 tie on Matt Farrell's 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go.
Persons then drained his 3-pointer off the dribble for the victory.
"I think we stayed relaxed because as a team, I think we've grown a lot," Persons said. "We know how to play in any moment, and it was rocking in there and that's a fun environment for anyone to be in."
Ball State had lost each of nine previous meetings to its in-state rival, the most recent being almost 32 years ago by a 119-78 count. The closest the Cardinals had come against the Irish was 14 points, and ND's average margin of victory had been 29.
Bonzie Colson led all players with 26 points for the Irish. Farrell added 14 points and eight assists with no turnovers, while Martinas Geben finished with 12 points.
Central Michigan 75, Montana State 48
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Kevin McKay had 17 points as Central Michigan pulled away from Montana State 75-48 on Tuesday night for its sixth straight win.
McKay was 8 of 14 from the floor with six rebounds. Shawn Roundtree and Cecil Williams added 14 points apiece and David DiLeo chipped in 13, nailing 3 of 8 from distance, while grabbing nine rebounds. Williams had seven rebounds with three assists.
Central Michigan (7-1) had a 37-20 advantage at the half. Roundtree drilled a 3-pointer to start the second half and the Chippewas, whose only loss was to Michigan, pulled away to a 58-31 lead.
Harald Frey scored 12 points for Montana State (6-4), which was 17 of 59 from the floor (28 percent), including 1 of 16 from distance. The Bobcats' leading scorer Tyler Hall was scoreless in 11 minutes.
Missouri 70, Miami 51
Box Score
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Kevin Puryear scored season-high 20 points and Jordan Barnett tied his career high with five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds as Missouri ran past Miami (Ohio) 71-50 on Tuesday night.
The Tigers (7-2) struggled out of the gate, but eventually found a stroke from three, shooting 53 percent from the field, including 10 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Kassius Robertson added 17 points, including three 3s, and Jeremiah Tilmon finished with 12 points and six rebounds for Missouri.
The Tigers limited Miami to just 32-percent shooting from the field, including 5 for 24 from 3-point range. Missouri's defense swarmed the RedHawks in the first half, holding them to just 24 points on 28-percent shooting.
Missouri committed 17 turnovers. The Tigers turned the ball over nine times against UCF in their last outing, but committed 20 turnovers against West Virginia and 16 versus St. John's in their prior two contests.
Evansville 91, Bowling Green 76
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Dru Smith had a career-high 25 points, seven assists and four steals to lead Evansville to a 91-76 win over Bowling Green on Tuesday night.
Smith was 11 of 13 from the floor, hitting three from long range, as Evansville (7-2) drilled 12 of 15 from distance, making 61 percent (34-56) of its field-goal attempts.
The Purple Aces (7-2), who have won two straight after dropping two, started the season with five consecutive victories.
Blake Simmons hit 4 of 5 from distance for 16 points and Noah Frederking added 14 for Evansville.
The Purple Aces led 46-40 at the break. Simmons and Frederking had back-to-back layups to start the second half and Dainius Chatkevicius slammed a dunk to start a 10-2 run as Evansville pushed it to 74-58.
Justin Turner had 21 to lead Bowling Green (7-3), which was outrebounded 35-22.
