The Ball State men’s basketball team went on a 15-0 scoring run late in the second half to pull away for a 91-69 win over Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals (8-7, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) led 42-26 at halftime before the visiting Falcons (6-9, 1-2 MAC) clawed their way back to trail 64-58 with five minutes to play. After Ethan Brittain-Watts hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for Ball State and Bowling Green responded with a layup, the hosts rallied for 15 straight points in just over two minutes to claim an 82-60 edge following a Jeremiah Hernandez triple with 2:49 left.
Juanse Gorosito and Brittain-Watts also hit 3-pointers during the offensive outburst, which allowed the Cardinals to win their fifth game in sixth tries.
Payton Sparks went for a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double in just 24 minutes, while Gorosito (16 points, two assists) and Mickey Pearson Jr. (16 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks) were the next leading scorers for Ball State in its second-highest scoring output of the season.
Hernandez (14 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals), Jermahri Hill (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Brittain-Watts (10 points, four assists) also scored in double figures for the Cardinals. This made it Ball State’s first game with six scorers in double digits since Nov. 19, 2022 against IU-South Bend.
The hosts stretched a 17-12 edge to a 31-14 advantage with a 14-2 rally midway through the first half. Gorosito bookended the stretch with 3-pointers and ended the opening period with three triples and 11 points.
Javontae Campbell led the Falcons with 13 points, but Bowling Green was limited to 40.3 percent (25-62) shooting from the field including 29.6 percent (8-27) from distance.
Ball State won the rebounding battle (37-31) and committed one fewer turnover (14-13). The Cardinals shot 58.9 percent (33-56) on field goals, 41.2 percent (7-17) on 3-pointers and 81.8 percent (18-22) at the foul line. The field goal percentage was a season-best for a team that has the longest active streak of games (six) with at least 70 points among MAC teams.
Next up for Ball State is a 7 p.m. road game on Tuesday at Ohio (9-6, 3-0 MAC).
