3 reasons Ball State beat Eastern Illinois: Mickey Pearson shines, Cardinals finish

CHARLESTON, Ill. — After back-to-back buzzer-beating losses, Ball State men's basketball got back in the win column in a comfortable 76-59 victory at Eastern Illinois.

The Cardinals (5-4) led for most of the game after exchanging the lead early in the first half, extended their lead to as many as 19 points in the second half and never allowed an inferior Panthers (2-8) team get within striking distance down the stretch.

Three takeaways:

Mickey Pearson, bench provides spark

Ball State came into the game with all five of its starters averaging 9.9 points or better. And while four of five starters finished in double-digits once again, it was redshirt sophomore Mickey Pearson who shined coming off the bench.

Ball State hasn't been known for its bench contributions early in the season. After a back-and-forth start to the game with some uncharacteristically poor shooting, Pearson came in and made the easy look easy. He found himself behind Eastern Illinois defenders, dunked a pair of times on wide-open looks and quickly scored six points.

Early in the second half, Pearson easily surpassed his previous career-high of 13 points. He finished the night with a game-high 20 points, shooting 80% (8 of 10) from the floor, to go along with nine rebounds (four offensive).

On a night where Ball State most of its starting lineup in foul trouble early in the second half, Pearson's contributions were as necessary as they were promising.

Ball State had five players finish in double-digits, with Payton Sparks (12 points), Jarron Coleman (11 points, eight assists), Demarius Jacobs (10 points, five assists) and Jalen Windham (10 points) finishing behind Pearson. Jaylin Sellers added nine points before fouling out late in the game.

Pearson wasn't the only player who contributed off the bench, either. With Jacobs and Sellers on the bench in the second half with four fouls apiece, the Cardinals didn't miss a beat with sophomore forward Basheer Jihad and junior guard Luke Bumbalough out on the floor for extended stretches.

Cardinals handle an inferior team

The score was close early, but it quickly became evident Ball State was the more talented team.

Eastern Illinois had eight fouls in the first 9:20, holding on to Ball State players at times avoid easy Cardinals buckets early in the game.

While the score was close early, Ball State was dominant in just about every category outside of field goal percentage in the first half. The Cardinals finished the game shooting 49.1% (25 of 55) from the field, 42.9% (9 of 21) from 3 and 81.3% (13 of 16) from the free throw line. Eastern Illinois shot 42.9% (21 of 49) from the field, just 9.1% (1 of 11) from 3 and 64% (16 of 25) from the free throw line.

In just about about every statistical category, Ball State led against an Eastern Illinois team which came in as one of the lowest-rated teams in the NCAA in terms of NET (352nd), KenPom (356th) and BPI (343th) rankings. Two Panthers' players, Kinyon Hodges (12 points) and Nick Ellington (12 points), finished in double-digits.

The Cardinals held an advantage in rebounds (36-26), securing 12 offensive boards, assists (17-11), bench points (24-12) and points off turnovers (13-7). Ball State came in as a near double-digit favorite and showed why.

Ball State finishes

There have been several times this season, both in wins and losses, in which Ball State had a comfortable lead in the second half but allowed its opponent to come back.

The Cardinals, who lost three of four games entering the contest, all of which came by five points or less, ensured there would be no such excitement Wednesday night. After exchanging the lead for half of the first half, Ball State took an early nine-point advantage in the second half and led by double-digits for most of the remainder of the game.

After a poor shooting first half, which included misses in the restricted area and on open shots out of the gate, the Cardinals returned to their usual form in the second half and watched their lead grow to as many as 19 points.

Ball State, after playing five straight games away from home, will return to Worthen Arena Saturday to play in-state opponent Evansville Saturday. It will the Cardinals' first home game in three weeks, its last coming in a win over IU South Bend on Nov. 19.

Robby General covers Ball State and East Central Indiana high school sports for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com or on Twitter @rgeneraljr.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State basketball: Cardinals close in win over Eastern Illinois