Dominant Defense Leads Cardinals to 58-53 Win over Northern Illinois

Saturday, January 24

Muncie, Ind.

2 PM

Ball State University

7-13,3-5MAC

Northern Illinois

6-13,2-6MAC

NIU

Ball St.

Photo by: Heather Parker

Dominant Defense Leads Cardinals to 58-53 Win over Northern Illinois

January 24, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team put on a defensive showcase, and Davion Hill closed the game out on offense in a 58-53 win against Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena.

Hill had a hand in the final 11 points the Cardinals scored including a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to clinch the home triumph. The guard also made a pair of baskets in the paint and assisted on a 3-pointer by Armoni Zeigler and a dunk from Kayden Fish in the last few minutes, as the slam by Fish put Ball State ahead 56-48 at the 1:06 mark of the second half.

Ball State (7-13, 3-5 Mid-American Conference) got its third win in a row with the decision on a day the 1985-86 men's basketball team that won the MAC Tournament was recognized.

Hill (18 points, eight rebounds, three assists) and Zeigler (18 points, three rebounds) paced the Cardinals in scoring, while Elmore James IV (seven points, two rebounds), Fish (six points, two rebounds) and Devon Barnes (five points, three rebounds, two assists) posted a pair of field goals each. Zeigler tied a career high in 3-pointers, going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Ball State built a lead as large as 10 points in the first half at 18-8 following a free throw from Barnes and went into halftime up 29-22. The Cardinals limited the Huskies (5-13, 2-6 MAC) to 30.4 percent shooting from the field in the opening period, when NIU went 0-for-10 from distance.

Northern Illinois won the rebounding battle 34-29 in the program's final game at Worthen Arena in the MAC before going to the Horizon League next season, but Ball State tallied four more points in the paint (32-28). The Cardinals committed three fewer turnovers (11-8) on the afternoon and outscored the Huskies in points off turnovers 16-13 and bench points 26-15.

The hosts went 44.7 percent (21-47) from the field, 27.8 percent (5-18) on 3-pointers and 61.1 percent (11-18) at the foul line. Northern Illinois hit 34.6 percent (18-52) of its field goal attempts including 14.3 percent (4-28) from distance and went 76.5 percent (13-17) on free throws.

Ball State is next set to return to the road in a game at Toledo on Saturday.