Hill's Game-Winning And-One Leads Cardinals to 68-67 Win at Central Michigan

Tuesday, January 20

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

7 PM

Ball State University

6-13,2-5MAC

Central Michigan

5-14,1-6MAC

Ball St.

Central Mich.

Photo by: Sydney Kline

Hill's Game-Winning And-One Leads Cardinals to 68-67 Win at Central Michigan

January 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Davion Hill drove to the basket for the game-winning and-one in the closing seconds of the Ball State men's basketball team's 68-67 win over Central Michigan on Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena.

Tied at 65-65 following a 3-pointer from Central's Logan McIntire with just over a minute to play, Hill headed to the middle of the lane and finished through contact to regain the lead for Ball State with 16 seconds to go. After Hill drained the foul shot for the three-point lead, Tamario Adley hit a pair of free throws for the Chippewas, and the Cardinals survived a series of inbound passes where they were fouled, including the final one which resulted in a scramble and the game clock running out.

Guards Devon Barnes and Armoni Zeigler paced the Cardinals with 17 points each, while Hill joined them in double figures with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Barnes made four 3-pointers in the second half, and Zeigler added seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal on the night.

Ball State (6-13, 2-5 Mid-American Conference) held CMU (5-14, 1-6 MAC) scoreless over a near eight-minute stretch in the late stages of the opening period to help build a 33-20 lead going into the break. Zeigler tallied seven points during a 15-0 scoring run for the Cardinals that spanned from the 8:18 to the 1:02 mark of the first half.

Elmore James IV made a layup with 17:48 to play that gave the Cardinals a 39-24 advantage, but the host Chippewas steadily cut the deficit down before tying it in the game's closing seconds. Zeigler and Hill made layups sandwiched around a triple from Barnes in the final three minutes of the contest for Ball State to help stave off the CMU comeback attempt.

Preston Copeland went for six points on 3-for-3 shooting from the field for the Cardinals while Kayden Fish (four points, four rebounds) and James IV (four points, three rebounds) made a pair of baskets each. Cam Denson added three points and five rebounds, and Mason Jones hit a floater in the lane with under five minutes to go that gave the visitors a 58-52 lead.

Central Michigan collected more rebounds (34-32) but turned the ball over seven more times (12-5). Ball State capitalized on that for a 17-2 edge in points off turnovers and also held advantages in points in the paint (36-24) and bench points (22-5). The five turnovers were the fewest the Cardinals have committed this season.

McIntire paced the Chippewas with 21 points, and Adley followed with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Ball State went 41.9 percent (26-62) from the field including 32 percent (8-25) on 3-pointers and made 72.7 percent (8-11) of its free throw attempts. Central Michigan shot 48.1 percent (25-52) on field goals, 63.2 percent (12-19) from distance and 50 percent (5-10) at the foul line.

The Cardinals will look to build on the two-game winning streak, as they next host Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. on Saturday.