Monday, November 3
Muncie, Ind.
7 PM
Ball State University
1-0,0-0MAC
75
vs
64
Louisiana
0-1,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
F
Louisiana
29
35
64
Ball St.
28
47
75
Photo by: Heather Parker
Cardinals Finish Strong in Season-Opening 75-64 Win over Louisiana
November 03, 2025 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team finished strong to open the season with a 75-64 win over Louisiana on Monday night at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals led 58-56 with just under five minutes to play before going on an 11-2 run featuring an and-one by forward Cam Denson and 3-pointers by Mason Jones and Juwan Maxey. Armoni Zeigler put an exclamation point on the rally with a layup to put the hosts ahead 69-58 with 1:36 on the clock. Ball State would cruise from there to win the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge matchup.
Davion Hill led the Cardinals in scoring (16 points) and rebounding (eight) in his Ball State debut while adding four assists. Denson followed with 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Zeigler tallied 13 points, five assists and three rebounds as the third Cardinal in double figures.
The Ragin' Cajuns scored the final six points of the first half to take a 29-28 lead into the break. Louisiana got a game-high 21 points from Jamyron Keller.
Ball State made 52.2 percent (24-46) of its field goal attempts including 53.3 percent (8-15) from beyond the arc while making 67.9 percent (19-28) of free throw attempts. Louisiana was limited to 42.4 percent (25-59) from the field and 32.1 percent (9-28) on 3-pointers.
The hosts won the rebounding battle 34-29 and committed one fewer turnover than the Ragin' Cajuns (12-11). Ball State held advantages in points in the paint (32-24) and bench points (29-18) thanks to the 14 from Denson, nine by Elmore James IV and six from Maxey.
The Cardinals won the home end of the MAC-SBC Challenge for the third time in as many tries after taking down Old Dominion in Nov. 2023 and Southern Miss in Feb. 2025.
Next on the schedule for Ball State is a home game against Mansfield at 7 p.m., on Friday.
The Cardinals led 58-56 with just under five minutes to play before going on an 11-2 run featuring an and-one by forward Cam Denson and 3-pointers by Mason Jones and Juwan Maxey. Armoni Zeigler put an exclamation point on the rally with a layup to put the hosts ahead 69-58 with 1:36 on the clock. Ball State would cruise from there to win the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge matchup.
Davion Hill led the Cardinals in scoring (16 points) and rebounding (eight) in his Ball State debut while adding four assists. Denson followed with 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Zeigler tallied 13 points, five assists and three rebounds as the third Cardinal in double figures.
The Ragin' Cajuns scored the final six points of the first half to take a 29-28 lead into the break. Louisiana got a game-high 21 points from Jamyron Keller.
Ball State made 52.2 percent (24-46) of its field goal attempts including 53.3 percent (8-15) from beyond the arc while making 67.9 percent (19-28) of free throw attempts. Louisiana was limited to 42.4 percent (25-59) from the field and 32.1 percent (9-28) on 3-pointers.
The hosts won the rebounding battle 34-29 and committed one fewer turnover than the Ragin' Cajuns (12-11). Ball State held advantages in points in the paint (32-24) and bench points (29-18) thanks to the 14 from Denson, nine by Elmore James IV and six from Maxey.
The Cardinals won the home end of the MAC-SBC Challenge for the third time in as many tries after taking down Old Dominion in Nov. 2023 and Southern Miss in Feb. 2025.
Next on the schedule for Ball State is a home game against Mansfield at 7 p.m., on Friday.
Team Stats
LA
BSU
FG%
.424
.522
3FG%
.321
.533
FT%
.556
.679
RB
29
34
TO
12
11
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball // Post Game Press Conference vs Louisiana
Tuesday, November 04
Sports Link: Meet The Cards (Cam Denson)
Monday, November 03
Sports Link: Meet the Cards (Devon Barnes)
Monday, November 03
Sports Link: Meet the Cards (Juwan Maxey)
Saturday, November 01