Michael Day Shatters Scoring Records in Epic Clash with the Cardinals

MUNCIE, Ind. – Three days subsequent to achieving a career-high of nine points at UT Arlington, Michael Day recorded his initial double-digit performance, scoring 13 points on Saturday as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team was defeated by Ball State with a final score of 80-43 at Worthen Arena.

Box Score

“We must improve and will enhance when we resume after Christmas,” Purple Aces head coach David Ragland remarked.  “It will be beneficial to return to practice and change our course.”
 
Coming off the bench, Day played just shy of 25 minutes, hitting five of his nine attempts while contributing four rebounds, an assist, and a block.  Tanner Cuff added 11 points and led the team with 7 rebounds.
 
Ball State initiated the game with the first 11 points to take an early advantage.  Evansville missed its opening 11 shots before Tanner Cuff managed to get his team on the scoreboard.  He followed that with a three-pointer, narrowing the gap to 16-5 for BSU at the 12:39 mark.  The Aces could not get any closer for the remainder of the half as the Cardinals established their largest edge of 20 points heading into the break.
 
Michael Day put forth a strong effort in the first half, scoring seven points and landing a 3-pointer.  Cuff also matched his tally with seven in the half.  BSU had two players in double digits during the first 20 minutes.
 
Expectations for a comeback in the second half were swiftly eliminated as the Cardinals scored eight of the initial nine points, cruising to an 80-43 win.  Payton Sparks led the Cardinals with 20 points, while three additional players reached double figures.  BSU shot a consistent 50% throughout the match while limiting UE to 29.1%.  They also concluded with a 42-33 edge on the boards.
 
UE will return to the court on Dec. 29 as Missouri Valley Conference action continues with a 3 p.m. contest against Missouri State at the Ford Center.