The Ball State Cardinals and Brady Sallee were able to take home the Sun Coast Challenge crown in a thrilling finish to the three day round robin, defeating Georgia on a last second shot by Ally Becki, 52-51.
Georgia, who defeated Pitt on Wednesday in what was a tight contest through the 4th quarter, kept it close the entire game.
However, foul trouble resulted in some of the downfall for the Bulldogs, who held the size advantage over the Cards heading into the showdown.
Georgia would be held 15-9 in the 3rd quarter and would allow for the Cardinals to work their way back from a ten point deficit for the group which allowed for Ball State to hang around heading into the final quarter of the game.
Some of the notables from the game include Georgia’s Javyn Nicholson, who scored 24 points in the Sun Coast finale while Becki finished with her own double digit performance, amounting to two in both of the team’s games this week.
Becki would be named the event MVP following the conclusion of the tournament in what was an impressive showing from the Cards all week.
Although they may not have some of the on-paper intangibles, Ball State competed hard in each of the two games and shot the ball well from all around the floor which gave them momentum.
Not to mention a great supporting crowd on hand, Ball State had all the makings of being a tough outing for the event and sure enough they showed it.
Georgia fell to 1-1 following the game in the tournament while Pitt left empty-handed at 2-0.
This year’s Sun Coast Challenge provided exciting and tight-played basketball across all three games and created for what was an incredible week of action.
It will be intriguing to see how all three teams perform, especially as conference play is pending.
