Persons scores 26 with 8 assists, Ball St beats Toledo 81-80 (Jan 31, 2017)

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) Tayler Person tied his season high with 26 points and had eight assists, Francis Kiapway hit two late free throws and Ball State held off Toledo for an 81-80 win on Tuesday night to take sole possession of first place in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

Franko House had 19 points and nine rebounds, Tahjai Teague scored 16 and Trey Moses added eight points with 11 rebounds for Ball State (15-7, 6-3), which has won three in a row and six of its last seven.

Teague scored five points during a 9-0 run that made it 68-63 with 8:17 left and the Cardinals led the rest of the way. Persons made a layup to put Ball State up by nine with 2:23 to go, but Nate Navigato and Luke Knapke hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Steve Taylor Jr.'s free throw cut Toledo's deficit to 79-77 with 14 seconds remaining. Kiapway's free throws seven seconds later made it a four-point lead and Jaelan Sanford's 3 with two seconds left capped the scoring.

Taylor had 23 points and 17 rebounds, Knapke scored 17 and Sanford added 15 points for Toledo (11-11, 4-5), which has lost three of its last four.