Pearson, Hernandez lead Ball State over Central Michigan 82-80

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Mickey Pearson Jr. scored 16 points to lead Ball State and Jeremiah Hernandez made three free throws with 4.2 seconds left as the Cardinals took down Central Michigan 82-80 on Tuesday night.

Pearson also contributed five rebounds for the Cardinals (9-9, 3-3 Mid-American Conference). Hernandez scored 15 points while going 4 of 8 and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line. Payton Sparks shot 5 of 7 from the field and 4 for 5 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points, while adding eight rebounds and three blocks.

The Chippewas (8-10, 2-4) were led in scoring by Quentin Heady, who finished with 17 points and three steals. Central Michigan also got 15 points and seven rebounds from Bryan Ndjonga. Anthony Pritchard finished with 15 points, six assists and three steals.

Hernandez scored eight points in the first half and Ball State went into halftime trailing 41-33. Pearson scored a team-high 12 points for Ball State in the second half. Ball State outscored Central Michigan by 10 points over the final half.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press