The Ball State Cardinals continued their brutal non-conference schedule by taking on their in-state rival, the Valparaiso Crusaders.
Tayler Persons opened the scoring before the two teams battled the entire first half. The Crusaders stretched the lead to 6 at one point, but the Cardinals were always within range before closing to 31-29 at the half.
In the second half, the Cardinals were on fire from the jump. A Tayler Persons’ layup gave them an 11 point lead a little over 5 minutes in. The Crusaders came storming back, eventually stretching their own lead to 7 on a Bakari Eveyln jumper.