Men's basketball busts Ball State 70-59
Todd Froemling
Issue date: 2/19/07 Section: Sports
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The Cardinals found out it was a bad day to give the 6-foot-11 center some open space.
Dyer led the Redbirds to a 70-59 victory over Ball State with career-high 29 points. The junior shot 11-of-13 from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the three-point arc. In the first half alone, he outscored his Redbird teammates 19-12.
"We were just getting to him too slowly and then when we got to him, he's so tall that he'll just shoot over you," Thompson said. "Sometimes we were there, but with his height and his size, sometimes being there didn't even matter."
Dyer, who started the season on the bench as an outside shooting specialist, has emerged as the Redbirds' biggest offensive weapon. Saturday marked the fourth consecutive contest in which he led the 'Birds in scoring, and his season average of 12 points per game leads the team.
"What's taken his game to another level is that he's established a post game. He had a couple offensive rebounds, a couple big post-up moves, and seven [baskets that weren't three-pointers]," ISU Head Coach Porter Moser said.
Dyer got started right away by scoring the Redbirds' first eight points of the contest. He also hit a key shot in the second half that put ISU ahead by three after Ball State cut a 13-point deficit down to one with 7:05 remaining in the game.
Dyer's seven-foot jumper in the post at the 6:28 mark triggered a 10-0 Redbird run that put the game out of reach down the stretch. The preceding five minutes of action saw Ball State close the gap from 46-33 to 50-49.
"The momentum had swung to them. When they hit a couple threes you could see their bench going nuts," Moser said. "For us to keep making plays…we answered them when they got it to a one-point game and we never let them take the lead. This is three games in a row we've really had some toughness within."
Redbird forward Anthony Slack added 10 points in the second half after being held scoreless in the first frame. Among his baskets was an alley-oop dunk set up by point guard Boo Richardson, who led the 'Birds with nine assists.
Senior forward Greg Dilligard and freshman guard Osiris Eldridge also reached double figures, with 10 points each. Slack and Dilligard led ISU in rebounding with nine and seven, respectively.
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