Rapid Reaction: Ball State 75, Central Michigan 63


The Central Michigan men's basketball team no longer leads the Mid-American Conference West Division.

Ball State took care of business and downed host CMU 75-63 on Saturday to sit alone atop the MAC West standings. Toledo, who plays Saturday night, needs a win to keep up with Ball State.

CMU drops to 13-12 (6-6 MAC) while the Cardinals improve to 16-9 (7-5 MAC).

Foul trouble

CMU ran into some foul trouble against the Cardinals.

With 3:54 remaining, Fowler and sophomore forward DaRohn Scott each had four fouls. Both players had zero fouls after the first half. In addition, three other players had two fouls each.

Scott fouled out with 2:58 left. Senior guard Rayshawn Simmons committed four fouls by the end of the game.

The Chippewas committed 20 fouls the entire game while Ball State had 16 fouls.

Full House

Ball State junior forward Franko House entered the game as the Cardinals' leading scorer after averaging 11.3 points per game.

House had three personal fouls in the first 20 minutes. His latter first-half foul came on a charge taken by sophomore Luke Meyer, which sent House to the bench with 1:14 left. He managed eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half.

He finished with 15 points. Bo Calhoun led Ball State with 22 points.

Ray's big day

Simmons played his final Saturday afternoon game at McGuirk Arena.

The St. Louis native finished with 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting. He scored 15 points in the second half. It is the most points Simmons has scored since he tallied 30 against Jacksonville State in the season-opener.

In addition, senior guard Chris Fowler poured in 15 points.

What's next

The Chippewas will move from one first place team in the MAC West to another. The Chippewas host the Toledo Rockets (15-9, 6-5 MAC) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at McGuirk Arena.

The Rockets host Miami (Ohio) on Saturday night. Toledo is led offensively by Nathan Boothe, who averages 19.3 points per game.

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About Evan Sasiela

Evan Sasiela is the University Editor at Central Michigan Life and a senior at Central Michigan ...

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