INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana State was not able to overcome a slow second half start as they fell to Ball State by the score of 69-55 in front of 2,425 fans inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
 
Indiana State fell to 0-3 while Ball State improved to 3-1.
 
Jordan Barnes paced the Sycamores with 12 points as he hit 5-of-10 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Tyreke Key added 11 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Barnes was the Sycamores' leading rebounder with five caroms. Ball State led the rebounding battle by a 41-28 margin. Barnes also led the Sycamores with four assists.
 
De'Avion Washington scored the game's first four points and a Barnes two-pointer with 10:25 on the clock capped a 6-0 run to push the Sycamores ahead 12-8. Kyle Mallers hit a 3-pointer with 8:29 remaining in the first half to cap a 7-0 run which gave the Cardinals a 15-12 lead. Barnes countered with a 3-pointer of his own with 7:26 remaining to knot the contest at 17.
 
Ball State led 26-21 before Kessinger scored inside and Barnes connected on a 3-pointer with 44 seconds on the clock to tie the contest at 26. Ishmael El-Amin hit 1-of-2 free throws with 21 seconds to go to give the Cardinals a 27-26 lead.
 
The Cardinals scored the first eight points of the second half which was capped by a Mallers 3-pointer with 17:19 to give them a 35-26 lead. Teague connected on a dunk with 9:25 to give Ball State a 51-34 lead. Tyreke Key's driving layup at the 6:52 mark capped a 7-0 run which cut the Cardinal's lead down to 51-41.
 
Jake LaRavia posted a dunk to get the lead down to single digits, but the Cardinals responded with nine of the next 12 points to restore the 15 point lead.
 
Tahjai Teague led Ball State with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Indiana State turns its attention to the Junkanoo Jam as they travel to Bimini, Bahamas on Thursday, November 21. The Sycamores open the tournament against Duquesne. The game which tips off at 6:30 p.m. (ET) and will air live on FloHoops.com which is a pay-per-view service.