by Elmore James IV hit the first basket of 2026 for Ball State men’s basketball.
The senior guard’s layup came 24 seconds into Saturday’s road contest at Buffalo. This gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead as Ball State was still looking for its first Mid-American Conference (MAC) win of the season.
However, the Bulls responded with an 18-2 run, which proved to be the difference as Buffalo raced past the Cardinals 85-72.
“We got off to a really poor start, and I don’t really know the reason for that,” Ball State head coach Michael Lewis said. “I thought we lacked energy early. I thought we lacked physicality [throughout] the whole game … We’ve been getting off to good starts here as of late. That wasn’t the case today.”
On top of turnovers, the Cardinals (4-10, 0-2 MAC) did not match Buffalo’s offensive success. While the Bulls (13-2, 3-0 MAC) finished with seven first-half scores, that was not the case for Ball State. Four Cardinals — including starters like junior forward Mason Jones and freshman center Preston Copeland — were held scoreless in the half.
Though the Bulls’ offense proved to be lethal — the unit is averaging 79.5 points per game — the Cardinals did not help themselves with mistakes. Ball State finished the opening half with nine turnovers, hindering any chance the team had to set up a run or find momentum.
“[Communication] takes no talent,” Lewis said. “So we got to become a lot better at the things that take no talent.”
The Cardinals’ poor first-half performance continued in the final seconds as junior Buffalo guard Ryan Sabol hit a buzzer-beating two-point basket. The Bulls led by as much as 18 points (31-13) in the period.
Following the mid-game break, things did not change for the Cardinals. The Bulls continued to run a high-paced offense that caused trouble for Ball State’s defensive sets. Buffalo reached a game-high 24-point lead (71-47) in the half.
Lewis said there was a certain loose-ball play that captured the issue with the Cardinals.
“We bend over at the waist to reach down and get it. They dove on the floor, knocking [the ball] away from us. So now the ball is still loose,” Lewis said. “We have another player who, again, bends over at the waist and reaches down for the ball. They dive on the floor and come up with it. Those are plays that just can’t happen.”
Senior guard Devon Barnes led the Cardinals with 20 points, while Davion Hill followed with 17 and six rebounds. For the Bulls, it was all Sabol as he finished the victory with 22 points. Sophomore center Tim Oboh was closely behind with 21 while grabbing five rebounds and blocking two shots.
As a team, Ball State was 22-for-55 (40 percent) from the field while just shooting 9-for-25 (36 percent) from 3-point range. On the other hand, Buffalo was able to find the bottom of the net often, finishing 29-for-51 (56.9 percent) and 10-for-22 (45.5 percent).
With the loss, Ball State is now 2-6 in its last eight games. With the continued absence of redshirt sophomore Kaiden Fish, senior guard Juwan Maxey and junior guard Joey Hart, Lewis said the team must find ways to work around that. He said it doesn’t matter if you are playing for Ball State, Indiana University, UCLA, the Los Angeles Lakers or the Croatian 18U team.
Every basketball team plays the same game.
“Our attention to detail, our positioning defensively, those things can improve … You have a defensive system. And when one of those five guys who are on the floor breaks out of that system and does something on their own, it breaks everybody else down,” Lewis said. “They’re dependent on them being where they’re supposed to be.
“We just have too many of these just-out-on-your-own-island type of plays. It breaks us down, and you get killed on it … It’s absolutely mind-boggling to me. We’ve got to have some more discipline on the defensive end.”
The Cardinals will next face Eastern Michigan at Worthen Arena Tuesday, Jan. 6. The game will start at 7 p.m.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com, or via X @ZachCarter85.
