Bryce Johnson Ties Career High with Five Made Three Pointers in Loss at Ball State

Chicago State sophomore Bryce Johnson tied a career high with five three-point field goals made in a 70-63 loss at Ball State Wednesday at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana. The game featured eight ties, seven lead changes and neither team led by more than eight points in a game where the Cougars out rebounded Ball State 15-7 on the offensive end leading to extra possessions and the Cardinals only converted 16 of 33 free throws but shot 52.2 percent from the field compared to 37.3 for CSU which was enough for the seven-point Ball State win.

Wesley Cardet led Chicago State in scoring with 18 points while Bryce Johnson tied a career high with five three point field goals made in eight attempts and finished with 17 points. Elijah Weaver and Jahsean Corbett each had 12 points and Corbett led CSU with 10 rebounds, three on the offensive end, for his team-leading sixth double-double of the season.

The Cougars will play one more game before the calendar turns to 2023, finishing their current seven-game road trip at Ohio U on Friday, December 30 at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio. The Bobcats are 7-5 overall but 5-0 at home this season and will have nine days between games before facing the Cougars, last playing at Delaware December 21, a 95-76 Ohio win. 

1st Half - Ball State 29, Chicago State 28
Chicago State scored off the opening tip as the ball was sent into their offensive end and Bryce Johnson grabbed it and dunked for a quick 2-0 lead
Following a Ball State score, Wesley Cardet converted a layup for a 4-2 lead
Elijah Weaver converted CSU's first three and Chicago State led 7-3 with 17:02 remaining
The Cardinals went on a 6-0 run over the next four minutes to tie and take the lead, 9-7, at the 13:39 mark
Johnson snapped the Cougars drought with a three and CSU regained the lead, 10-9, with 13:12 remaining
Jahsean Corbett scored his first two to extend Chicago State's lead to 12-9
Following a Cardinals score, Cardet hit a three and field goal and Chicago State's lead was five, 16-11, at the 10:48 mark
Ball State then hit threes on back-to-back possessions to regain the lead, 17-16
Bryce Johnson responded with his second three to put CSU back out front 19-17
Corbett scored and Chicago State led 21-17 with 8:44 remaining in the half
Ball State then went on a modest 7-2 run to tie and regain the lead, 25-23, with under five minutes remaining
The teams exchanged baskets and, following a Cardinals layup, Elijah Weaver made two free throws for what would be the final points of the half and Ball State leading by just one, 29-28
The Cougars reeled in seven offensive rebounds and the extra possessions proved valuable as Ball State did not have any turnovers in the final 10 minutes of the half

2nd Half - Ball State 41, Chicago State 35
The Cardinals opened the scoring in the second half but Bryce Johnson countered with a three for CSU and the score was tied 31-31 at the 18:56 mark
Following a Ball State three, Johnson again converted from long range to knot the score 34-34
The Cardinals converted a jumper but Elijah Weaver scored on the Cougars next possession to again tie the score
Chicago State battled back to go up by a point, 41-40, following a driving layup by Wesley Cardet at the 13:00 mark
Ball State scored on back-to-back possessions to go up 44-41, but Bryce Johnson hit his fifth three pointer, tying a career high, and the score was 44-44 with 11:23 remaining in the game
The teams exchanged hoops and were tied 48-48 when Ball State went on a 6-0 run and led 55-48 at the 8:32 mark
Elijah Weaver stopped the run with a three and following a pair of Cardinals free throws and one by the Cougars, Ball State hit a jumper and the lead was seven, 59-52, with 6:30 remaining in the regulation
Ball State extended the lead to eight following a layup at the 3:09 mark and led 65-57 heading into the final stretch
Cardet buried a jumper with 20 seconds remaining to cut the lead to four, 67-63, but a Johnson three-point attempt was off the mark and Ball State closed out the game making three free throws for the seven-point win

Ball State 70, Chicago State 63

About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year. During that same season, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.

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