THE BASICS

Score: Ohio 82, Ball State 73

Location: Worthen Arena - Muncie, Ind.

The Short Story: The senior trio of guard Javarez Willis (Homer, La.), guard Stevie Taylor (Gahanna, Ohio) and forward Maurice Ndour (Mbour, Senegal) powered the Ohio men's basketball team (6-10, 1-4 MAC) to its first Mid-American Conference victory of the 2015 season -- an 82-73 win at Ball State (7-9, 2-3 MAC) on Wednesday (Jan. 21) at Worthen Arena.

OHIO STARTERS: #3 Javarez Willis, #5 Maurice Ndour, #14 Ryan Taylor, #24 Mike Laster, #33 Antonio Campbell  

BALL STATE STARTERS: #0 Francis Kiapway, #2 Matt Kamieniecki, #15 Franko House, #24 Jeremiah Davis, #34 Sean Sellers

HOW IT HAPPENED 

- Ohio put together its best shooting performance of the season, converting at a 61.7 percent (29-of-47) clip - including a season-best 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from beyond the arc.

- The Bobcats dished out a season-high 20 assists. Ohio also won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Cardinals by a 31-27 count.

- Willis poured in a game-high 27 points, converting on nine of his 15 attempts - including a scorching 7-of-9 from three point land. He also matched his career high with six assists, grabbed four rebounds and posted a steal in 39 minutes.

- Taylor posted a season-high 18 points, seven assists and four steals to go along with four rebounds in 28 minutes of work off of the bench. He connected seven of his eight attempts --- including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point land.

- Ndour chipped in 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds to go along with three assists, two steals and a block in 33 minutes. He went 5-of-7 from the field in the second half, totaling 11 points. 

- Freshman guard Francis Kiapway led Ball State with 19 points. He also recorded a rebound and an assist in 31 minutes. Kiapway knocked down five of his nine three-point attempts.

- Freshman forward Sean Sellers chipped in 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 31 minutes for the Cardinals.

- Senior guard Jeremiah Davis posted 12 points, a team-high seven assists, a team-high three steals and two rebounds for Ball State.

- Junior forward Bo Calhoun recorded a double-double for Ball State, totaling 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 28 minutes of work off of the bench.

- Ohio set the tone over the first 20 minutes of play, shooting 61.9 percent in the first half, with Willis leading the way with 16 points.

- Willis knotted the contest at three-all by sinking a trey with just over 18 minutes left in the first half, but Ball State responded with a 7-0 run over the ensuing three-plus minutes to grab a 10-3 advantage. The spurt was capped by a three by Sellers. 

- Ohio went on a 14-4 run out of the first media break, using two more treys by Willis, a three by Taylor, a coast-to-coast layup by Taylor off of a Ball State turnover and a conventional three-point play by redshirt junior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) to take its first lead of the game at 17-14 with just over 10 minutes to play in the half. 

- The 'Cats extended their run to 18-4 and forced Ball State to burn a timeout after layups by Ndour and Willis gave Ohio a 21-14 advantage with just over nine minutes to play. The Cardinals answered back with an 8-1 run, though, taking advantage of a three by Calhoun, a layup by Davis and a conventional three-point play by fifth-year senior forward/center Matt Kamieniecki to tie the game at 22-all with just over eight minutes left. 

- Ohio outscored Ball State by an 18-10 count over the final seven-plus minutes of the first half to take a 40-32 lead into halftime - the Bobcats' first halftime advantage of conference play this season. Ndour connected on four free throws down the stretch while Willis hit a three and sank two freebies.

- The Cardinals opened the second half with a 15-9 run to cut Ohio's lead to two at 49-47 with just under 15 minutes to play in regulation. 

- The Bobcats responded to the challenge, using an 8-0 run by Taylor that included back-to-back treys, back-to-back threes by Willis and a conventional three-point play by Setty to spark a 17-4 run that built Ohio's lead up to 15 at 66-51 with 8:15 to go.

- A trey by Kiapway three minutes later shaved Ohio's lead back down to eight at 69-61, but the 'Cats answered with a 7-0 run powered by a three and a jumper by Ndour to make it a 15-point game once again at 76-61 with three minutes to go.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

- First-year head coach Saul Phillips picked up his first career Mid-American Conference victory.

- The Bobcats have won seven of the last eight meetings against the Cardinals -- including five straight.

- Ohio's 13 made treys marked the most in a game for the Bobcats since the Green & White connected on 13 against Robert Morris on Dec. 1, 2012.

- Willis reached the 20-point mark for the third time this season and fourth time in his career. He reached double figures for the 11th time this season and 21st time in his career. Willis knocked down seven three-point attempts for the second time this season. He led the team in scoring for a team-leading seventh time this season. 

- Taylor reached double figures for the second straight contest, fourth time this season and 19th time in his career. He led the team in assists for the fifth time this season. 

- Ndour achieved double figures for the eighth straight game, team-leading 14th time this season and 39th time in his career. He also led the squad in rebounding for a team-leading 12th time this season.

QUOTABLE

First-Year Head Coach Saul Phillips

- "What really got us off to a good start, I thought, was, defensively, I thought we created turnovers. Nine steals for us is a lot. I thought we were aggressive in getting into driving lanes, getting extra bodies around the ball. We got a couple  layups in transition, and, next thing you know, threes are going in all over the place."

Redshirt Senior Guard Javarez Willis 

- "I think I got myself ready to play today. When you lose four in a row, at some point, you've got to get fed up with it. I was just determined. I didn't want to lose tonight."

UP NEXT

Ohio returns to the Convo for a showdown against MAC East Division leader Buffalo on Saturday (Jan. 24). The opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

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