We have been here before.

Tuesday night, Ball State’s Tayler Persons hit a three with 1.7 seconds left to stun Notre Dame, 80 to 77.  Saturday, Persons did it again, this time to another, northern Indiana school.

With three seconds remaining against Valparaiso, 5,009 fans saw Persons nail another game-saving three, to sink Valparaiso, 71 to 70, Saturday afternoon at Ball State’s Worthen Arena.  After having led by as many as 11 points with 14 minutes to go, Valpo clawed back and had the lead in the closing minutes of the game.  But Persons was and the Cards were having nothing of that.  Persons scored seven straight points in the closing minutes.  With the Cards down 70-68, Persons sank the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd points of his afternoon’s work, before Valpo tried a long heave toward its bucket that missed, as time expired.

The Cards have won five straight, and are now 6 and 4 on the season.  Valparaiso has lost its second in a row against eight wins.  Next up for Ball State: Fall Semester final exams.  The team with take next week off to work on academics, then will resume play on Tuesday the 19th, when North Florida visits Worthen Arena.