Ball State University Athletics
Monday, November 2
Statesboro, Ga.
7 PM
Ball State University
0-1,0-0MAC
55
at
67
Georgia Southern
1-0,0-0Sun Belt
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball St. | 22 | 33 | 55 |
| Ga. Southern | 37 | 30 | 67 |
Photo by: Georgia Southern Athletics
November 02, 2026 | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Ball State men's basketball team fell behind early and couldn't recover in a 67-55 loss to Georgia Southern on Monday night at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center.
The Cardinals scored the first two points of the game on a pair of Jaden Smith free throws, but the host Eagles tallied the next 17 points of the contest to build an early lead in the season opener for both teams. Georgia Southern maintained the 15-point advantage taking a 37-22 lead into the halftime break.
Ball State made a late charge with an 8-0 run including six points from Joey Hart to close the gap to 63-50 with 1:47 to play, but the visitors didn't complete the comeback in the first round of the MAC-SBC Challenge which features teams from the Mid-American Conference facing off with Sun Belt Conference members.
Javion Guy-King led the Cardinals with 12 points and added five rebounds, while Kai McGrew (six points, six rebounds) and Hart (six points) followed in the scoring column. Sean Blake, Jazz Henderson Jr., Trey Lewis, K'Jei Parker and Jaden Smith chipped in five points each. Mason Jones contributed four points and a career high 13 rebounds.
Georgia Southern shot 37.7 percent (20-53) from the field on the night including 26.3 percent (5-19) on 3-pointers while going 61.1 percent (22-36) at the foul line in the winning decision.
Eltramon Smith posted a game high 24 points for the Eagles along with five rebounds, and Dallas Gardner followed with 13 points and 13 boards.
Ball State collected more rebounds (47-39) for the day, including 15 offensive boards, on its way to a 13-3 edge in second chance points. The Cardinals also had more bench points (36-30), but the Eagles enjoyed a 22-10 advantage in fast break points.
Next up for the Cardinals is the home regular season opener against Indiana State at 7 p.m. on Friday.
The Cardinals scored the first two points of the game on a pair of Jaden Smith free throws, but the host Eagles tallied the next 17 points of the contest to build an early lead in the season opener for both teams. Georgia Southern maintained the 15-point advantage taking a 37-22 lead into the halftime break.
Ball State made a late charge with an 8-0 run including six points from Joey Hart to close the gap to 63-50 with 1:47 to play, but the visitors didn't complete the comeback in the first round of the MAC-SBC Challenge which features teams from the Mid-American Conference facing off with Sun Belt Conference members.
Javion Guy-King led the Cardinals with 12 points and added five rebounds, while Kai McGrew (six points, six rebounds) and Hart (six points) followed in the scoring column. Sean Blake, Jazz Henderson Jr., Trey Lewis, K'Jei Parker and Jaden Smith chipped in five points each. Mason Jones contributed four points and a career high 13 rebounds.
Georgia Southern shot 37.7 percent (20-53) from the field on the night including 26.3 percent (5-19) on 3-pointers while going 61.1 percent (22-36) at the foul line in the winning decision.
Eltramon Smith posted a game high 24 points for the Eagles along with five rebounds, and Dallas Gardner followed with 13 points and 13 boards.
Ball State collected more rebounds (47-39) for the day, including 15 offensive boards, on its way to a 13-3 edge in second chance points. The Cardinals also had more bench points (36-30), but the Eagles enjoyed a 22-10 advantage in fast break points.
Next up for the Cardinals is the home regular season opener against Indiana State at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
BSU
GS
FG%
.271
.377
3FG%
.135
.263
FT%
.720
.611
RB
47
39
TO
15
10
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Friday, October 30
Thursday, October 15
Wednesday, October 14
Monday, October 12