Men's Basketball Back at Worthen to Host Earlham on Monday Night

Monday, December 29

Muncie, Ind.

7 PM

Ball State University

Earlham

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Photo by: Samantha Blankenship

Men's Basketball Back at Worthen to Host Earlham on Monday Night

December 28, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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Ball State Men's Basketball
Game 13 vs. Earlham	Monday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Listen
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The Ball State men's basketball team hosts Earlham at 7 p.m., on Monday for its final game on the 2025 calendar before beginning the new year.

Rick Johnston and David Eha are on the ESPN+ broadcast, while Mick Tidrow and Scot Bunnell handle the radio call on WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and on the WMUN app. Links to both broadcasts, tickets and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.

Ball State (3-9, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) fell 86-77 in the MAC opener to Miami on Dec. 29. The Cardinals got a team-most 20 points from Elmore James IV and had opportunities to tie the game on
multiple possessions midway through the second half, but the RedHawks shot efficiently from the field and at the foul line to get the road win.

Earlham (1-10, 0-4 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) has dropped five games in a row including most recently falling 60-54 at Kenyon College on Dec. 20. The lone win of the season for the Quakers was Nov. 29 at Asbury (81-77).

Head coach Isaiah Cavaco is in his first season in charge of the program from Richmond, Ind. The 2024-25 Quakers went 2-23 (2-16) to finish last in the 10-team HCAC.

Earlham is ninth in its league in scoring offense (68.7 points per game), scoring defense (78.9) and scoring margin (-10.2). Freshman Bud Davis is third in the HCAC in total points (166) and assists (39).

Ball State next travels to Buffalo for its MAC road opener at 2 p.m., on Saturday.

EFFICIENT ELMORE: Senior Elmore James IV had his best offensive output as a Cardinal in Ball State's MAC opener against Miami on Dec. 20.

The guard scored 20 points in just 26 minutes, going 6-for-10 from the field and 6-for-6 at the foul line.

BENCH SCORING IN BUNCHES: Ball State's bench scored a season-high 48 points against the RedHawks, surpassing the 40-point mark in bench scoring for the second time this season (44 vs Le Moyne).

James IV (20 points) scored nearly half of those followed by Kayden Fish (10), Armoni Zeigler (7), Juwan Maxey (7) and Jai Anthoni Bearden (4).

FISH FINDING HIS WAY: Redshirt sophomore Kayden Fish has posted double digit points in four games in a row to begin the month of December.

The forward had 10 points at Evansville (Dec. 3), 12 points and nine rebounds vs South Dakota State (Dec. 9), 11 points, four rebounds and four steals at Campbell (Dec. 14), and 10 points in the most recent contest vs Miami.

HART AND HUSTLE: Junior Joey Hart posted a team-best in points for the second straight game when he had 15 on Dec. 14 at Campbell after scoring a game-high 18 points on Dec. 9 against South Dakota State in his first start of the season.

The guard needed only nine field goal attempts against the Jackrabbits to reach the 18 points and also contributed three rebounds and an assist in his home season debut. Hart played eight minutes at Evansville the previous Wednesday in his season debut.

DOUBLE DIGIT STEALS: Ball State collected 10 steals on Dec. 9 against South Dakota State, making it the fourth time this season the Cardinals have had 10+ steals in a game.

Ball State also had double figures in that category against Mansfield (11) and Little Rock (10) in November and on Dec. 3 at Evansville. This is the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Cardinals have had four non-conference games with 10+ steals.

COPELAND CAN REBOUND: Freshman Preston Copeland tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in only 19 minutes at Campbell on Sunday in a return to his home state of North Carolina.

The forward grabbed 16 rebounds against Le Moyne on Nov. 30 to go along with 10 points for his first collegiate double-double. He became only the second freshman at Ball State since at least the 2009-10 season to record 15+ rebounds in a game (Payton Sparks with 16 on Jan. 14, 2022 vs Buffalo).

BIG GAME FROM MAXEY: Senior guard Juwan Maxey went 7-for-14 on 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 27 points in Ball State's 96-85 win over Le Moyne at the Lafayette Classic.

The Detroit native had the 16th game by a Ball State men's basketball player with at least seven triples. Maxey also added five assists in the contest.

PUTTING UP THE POINTS: The 96 points the Cardinals scored against Le Moyne were the most in a single game since the 2023-24 season opener against Goshen (101).

The offensive output was the highest for Ball State against an NCAA Division I opponent since a 97-75 victory over Indiana State on Nov. 27, 2021.

BALANCED BOX SCORES: Ball State has eight players averaging between 6 and 12 points per game: Davion Hill (11.3), Armoni Zeigler (9.9), Hart (9.0), Devon Barnes (7.8), James IV (7.8), Juwan Maxey (7.4), Fish (6.5), and Cam Denson (6.3).

Four Cardinals are between 4 and 5 rebounds per contest: Zeigler (5.0), Copeland (4.7), Mason Jones (4.4) and Denson (4.3).

CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State is fourth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (70.8 points per game) and fifth in steals per game (7.7) and turnover margin (+2.0) through the season's first 12 contests.

Junior forward Mason Jones is fourth in the league in steals per game (1.75) and fifth in total steals (21).

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.