Ball State men’s basketball and women’s basketball both picked up nonconference wins over in-state rivals for a Friday night doubleheader in Worthen Arena. The Ball State men’s team got the night started with its first win of the season, defeating Franklin College 87-60. The women’s team followed with an 89-63 victory over IU Indy.
Despite the 27-point advantage in the final score, coach Michael Lewis was dissatisfied with the performance of the men’s team.
“I give a lot of credit to Franklin. We scheduled them for a reason, and they exposed us in a lot of ways,” Lewis said. “I’m just disappointed in our sloppiness. To have 19 turnovers against a defense that basically didn’t guard you, it was a lot of selfishness. We’re going to win this game, okay, but I wanted our guys to have to play through some difficult things because it’s the only way they’re going to learn.”
Ball State’s 19 turnovers led to 23 points for Franklin. The Cardinals’ offense looked disjointed and lacking chemistry throughout the game, but Lewis did not blame the struggles on growing pains for a new roster.
More: Meet the Ball State basketball roster: Player-by-player breakdown ahead of 2024-25 season
More: Ball State women’s basketball: Newcomers from transfer portal set to make a big impact
“I think it’s a struggle with guys just forcing things for personal reasons,” Lewis said. “How do you play against Georgia State, who is a very athletic and physical team, and only turn it over six times? I thought we played very selfish there tonight. We drill passing, ball handling every day. We play off two feet. Pass the ball, just make the easy basketball play, and the basketball gods will reward you for it.”
Payton Sparks and Jermahri Hill led the scoring for the Cardinals with 17 points apiece. Mickey Pearson Jr. had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Ethan Brittain-Watts did not score but led the team with six assists.
For Sparks, it was his first game back in Worthen Arena since his sophomore season. The preseason first-team All-MAC selection spent the 2023 season at IU before returning to Ball State this year.
“It felt great to see the fans there, see my family,” Sparks said. “Just putting on the jersey, the number five back on, it was a great feeling.”
On the women’s side, the Cardinals’ defense smothered IU Indy, forcing 26 turnovers and holding the Jaguars to just 12 points in the paint and sub-40% from the field. Coach Brady Sallee highlighted the defensive effort and ability to adjust early-on to Logan Lewis, who had the hot hand for the Jaguars.
“I thought we really dominated on the defensive end, turned defense into offense, set the tone early and never really looked back,” coach Brady Sallee said. “Today we had to adjust a little bit, I thought [Lewis] came out guns blazing, and we had a little bit different scout on her. In those moments, you can’t let somebody go cuckoo. I thought we did a good job there, I think she had nine in the first half, we talked about her at halftime, then she had two.”
On offense, Ball State was very balanced with five players scoring in double figures. Ally Becki led the way with 21 points and nine assists. Lachelle Austin had 14 points, Zuri Ransom had 12 off the bench, and Alex Richard and Elise Stuck had 11 apiece. MJ Johnson also added nine points off the bench, which Sallee personally counted as a sixth double-figure scorer.
“I’m from Kentucky, so I round nine up to 10, so we had six in double figures,” Sallee said. “That’s a big stat, and I think that’s hard to guard when you’ve got that many people out there that can score the ball.”
Both teams are back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The women’s team will stay home to host Memphis at 6:30 p.m. ET, while the men’s team will be on the road against Dayton for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@muncie.gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State basketball doubleheader: Payton Sparks returns to Worthen
