Men's Basketball Set for Three Games in Three Days at Lafayette Classic

Friday, November 28

Easton, Pa.

2 PM

Ball State University

Monmouth

Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics

Men's Basketball Set for Three Games in Three Days at Lafayette Classic

November 26, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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The Ball State men's basketball team will play three games in three days starting Friday against Monmouth at the Lafayette Classic in Easton, Pa.

The battle with the Hawks is set for 2 p.m., followed by a 4:30 p.m., game Saturday against Lafayette and a noon matchup vs Le Moyne on Sunday. Each game will be streamed on ESPN+, and links to that and the radio broadcasts and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page. Mark Foerster and David Eha handle the radio call on WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and on the WMUN app.

The Cardinals (2-3) are coming off a 70-52 setback at Indiana State last Friday night. Devon Barnes led Ball State in scoring with 14 points in the game at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute.

Monmouth (2-3) beat Robert Morris 71-70 in overtime on Sunday afternoon in its most recent contest. The Hawks also had a 96-68 win over Caldwell in the Nov. 4 season opener but lost at La Salle (73-60
on Nov. 8), Seton Hall (70-58 on Nov. 13) and Syracuse (78-73 on Nov. 18) in the three games between their wins.

Head coach King Rice is in his 15^th season leading the program that was picked to finish sixth in the 13-team Colonial Athletic Association preseason coaches poll.

The Hawks protect the basket to the tune of 7.4 blocks per game which leads the CAA and ranks fifth in NCAA Division I. Monmouth also paces the league in free throw percentage (74.0) through its first five regular season games.

Senior guard Jack Collins leads the CAA with 2.0 steals per game and ranks fifth in the league at 4.0 assists per game, while his more than 37 minutes played per contest are third-most in the country. Junior guard Jason Rivera-Torres averages 13.2 points and 8.4 rebounds (fourth-most in the CAA) per game.

Lafayette (1-5) dropped a 74-70 decision at Stonehill on Friday night. The lone win for the Leopards came on Nov. 5 against Dickinson (79-44).

Mike McGarvey enters his fourth season in charge of the program. Lafayette was picked seventh in the 10-team Patriot League preseason poll.

The Leopards get to the line, averaging the second-most free throw attempts in the Patriot League (21.5). Lafayette's 14.0 free throws made per game and +0.3 turnover margin are both third in the league.

Sophomore guard Caleb Williams (17.0 points per game) and junior Andrew Phillips (16.7) are second and third in the Patriot League in scoring on high volume shooting from distance.

Le Moyne (2-4) fell 97-83 to Fairfield at home on Saturday afternoon in its most recent game. The Dolphins topped Niagara 74-68 the previous Monday night and SUNY Cobleskill 94-50 in the season opener for their wins so far this season. Le Moyne lost at Mid-American Conference members Bowling Green (83-60 on Nov. 9) and UMass (94-80 on Nov. 13) in successive contests.

Nate Champion is in his sixth season as head coach of the team from Syracuse, N.Y. The Dolphins went 9-23 (4-12 NEC) in their second year of NCAA Division I play after previously being in Division II.

Le Moyne averages 76.7 points per game going into the weekend while allowing 77.7 per game. The Dolphins have outrebounded opponents by an average of 34.8 to 33.7 per game but commit more turnovers (15.2 to 12.2).

Redshirt junior guard Trent Mosquera paces a quartet of Dolphins averaging double figures in scoring with 14.0 points per game. Graduate forward Shilo Jackson puts up 12.8 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per contest.

After the Lafayette Classic, Ball State's next game is Wednesday night at Evansville.

NEW OPPONENTS: The Lafayette Classic features three new matchups for the Ball State men's basketball program, as the games against Monmouth, Lafayette and Le Moyne will be the first in series history for the Cardinals.

The contest with Monmouth is set to be the first of two this year for Ball State against a Colonial Athletic Association member (at Campbell on Dec. 14).

KEYSTONE STATE CLASH: Ball State will play its first games in Pennsylvania since Dec. 3, 2022 at Duquesne.

Monmouth will be the first team based out of the state of New Jersey that Ball State will play since facing Princeton on Dec. 2, 2000.

BALANCED BOX SCORES: Ball State has five players averaging between 8 and 12 points per game: Armoni Zeigler (11.8), Davion Hill (10.2), Elmore James IV (10.0), Devon Barnes (9.6) and Cam Denson (8.2).

Four Cardinals are between 4 and 6 rebounds per contest: Hill (5.4), Zeigler (4.6), Denson (4.6) and Mason Jones (4.0).

CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State leads the Mid-American Conference in fewest fouls committed per game (13.8, No. 14 in NCAA Division I), while ranking second in turnovers forced per game (16.8, No. 25) and scoring defense (68.4 points per game) through the season's first five games.

The Cardinals are third in the league in turnover margin (+3.6 per game) and 3-point percentage defense (32.0).

Graduate forward Cam Denson ranks second in the MAC in blocks per game (1.8). Mason Jones (2.4 steals per game) and Armoni Zeigler (1.8) are second and fifth in the league in that respective category as well.

CAREER HIGHS FOR JONES: Junior forward Mason Jones set career bests in 3-pointers made (three) and steals (four) on Nov. 11 at Wisconsin.

The Valparaiso, Ind., native tallied three of those steals in the first half and went 3-for-3 from distance in the second period. Jones followed that up with another four-steal performance on Nov. 22 at Indiana State.

DYNAMIC DUO: Guards Davion Hill and Armoni Zeigler traded off leading the team in points and rebounds in the first two games of the season, with the other pacing the Cardinals in assists.

Hill went for 16 points, eight boards and four assists in the Nov. 3 season-opening win over Louisiana, while Zeigler chipped in 13 points, three rebounds and a team-best five assists. Zeigler tallied 20 points, nine rebounds and five steals on Nov. 7 against Mansfield as Hill had 16 points, six rebounds and four helpers.

FINISHING STRONG: Ball State controlled the closing minutes in the 75-64 win over the Ragin' Cajuns and 84-54 decision vs the Mountaineers.

The Cardinals scored the final 12 points of the game and 36 of the last 44 overall against Mansfield on Nov. 7. Ball State used an 11-2 run with under five minutes on the clock vs Louisiana the
previous Monday to create separation in the season opener.

SUCCESS VS SUN BELT: The Nov. 3 win over Louisiana in the season opener was Ball State's third in as many tries in home games of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.

Ball State topped Old Dominion 73-68 on Nov. 11, 2023 and Southern Miss 77-76 on Feb. 8, 2025 in the two previous installments of the challenge at Worthen Arena.

I'VE SEEN YOU BEFORE: Senior guard Elmore James IV is no stranger to the Mid-American Conference having played three seasons at Ohio before coming to Ball State.

The Cleveland, Ohio native has made 24 starts in 50 career MAC games, scoring 339 points. James averaged 8.2 points and 2.6 rebounds overall last season for the Bobcats while shooting 37.3 percent from 3-point range.

FLYING FISH: Redshirt sophomore forward Kayden Fish comes to Muncie with NCAA Tournament experience after scoring an and-one and registering a block and a steal last March in Iowa State's first round win over Lipscomb.

The Kansas City, Mo., was awarded a medical redshirt his freshman year with the Cyclones and played in nine games last season before transferring to Ball State.

TV GAME AT WORTHEN ARENA: The game against Ohio originally scheduled for Jan. 17 in Muncie has been moved to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16 due to it being aired on CBS Sports Network.

Ball State's most recent home MAC game on a Friday was back on March 3, 2023 against Toledo in a game that was also broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

WELCOME TO THE MAC: Ball State plays league newcomer UMass twice in the regular season in the first season in the league for the Minutemen.

The Cardinals play at UMass on Jan. 10 before hosting the Minutemen on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The two teams have faced off only once prior, in an 89-86 Ball State win on Nov. 21, 2021 in St. Petersburg, Fla.