by MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State men’s basketball ended the calendar year of 2025 Monday evening as the Earlham Quakers made the 58-minute drive to Worthen Arena.
Though their travel time was only a little under an hour, it did take a minute for the Quakers to hit a basket once the game began. That came at the 6:34 mark of the first half when junior guard Connor Smith sank a free throw.
Before the foul shot ended the scoring drought, the Cardinals had no issue finding the bottom of the net at that time. They scored 33 straight points, and after that, Ball State used the difference to continue on to a 93-30 victory.
This was the first time since Jan. 14, 1946, that Ball State had held an opponent to 30 points or less.
“I was happy with how we came out to begin the game,” Ball State head coach Michael Lewis said. “Our energy was good, and we were able to take control of the game pretty early … I’m very pleased overall with how we competed.”
While the Cardinals’ 33-0 run was helpful, it was not just the scoring category that Ball State commanded. The home team had the better field goal percentage (64-19), more rebounds (43-25), fewer turnovers (17-7), more assists (19-4) and never once trailed.
The Cardinals believe a game like that can teach them the importance of discipline on the court.
“Being mentally locked in over 40 minutes of basketball has been a struggle for our team,” freshman center Preston Copeland said. “I feel like this game really helped us improve from that standpoint.”
In the win, Copeland led the Cardinals with 18 points while senior guard Devon Barnes followed with 17. Junior forward Mason Jones added 11 rebounds to the boxscore. All 10 Ball State players who saw the court found the scoring column.
Three different Cardinals — junior guard Joey Hart, redshirt sophomore forward Kayden Fish and senior guard Juwan Maxey — were absent from the game. While Lewis said Fish and Maxey both had new situations — an appendix removal and an illness — he mentioned that Hart is still dealing with a foot injury that has had him sidelined for most of the season.
Lewis said the injury could be ‘day-to-day, significant or even season-ending.’
Because of the absence, Ball State saw multiple players receive an increase in playing time. Sophomore guard Kody Clancy and freshman forward Easton Foster were two of those players, and the pair combined for 17 points and five rebounds.
Now, Ball State sits at 4-9 overall and is 1-0 in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play. The Cardinals will start a nine-game MAC journey Saturday, Jan. 3, with a road game against Buffalo. The opening tip is set for 2 p.m.
Lewis said he wants to see the team continue to clean up the easy mistakes as conference play becomes the focal point for the remainder of the season.
“I wasn’t happy because we wanted to hold them under 30 [points] tonight. They had 25, we fouled a 3-point shooter and we got driven on by a substitute Division III guard,” he said. “Those are things that you just can’t do. You can go back through all of our games, and we have those same mistakes. Your outcome is not going to change until those things change.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
