Ball State University Athletics
Photo by: Bobby Ellis/Ball State University
Late Rally Falls Short for Men's Basketball in 75-68 Setback to Kent State
February 14, 2026 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team made a run at Kent State, cutting a 13-point deficit down to one with just under five minutes to play, but couldn't complete the comeback in a 75-68 setback on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena.
A 9-0 scoring rally capped by a Juwan Maxey 3-pointer cut Kent State's edge to 53-50 at the 11:34 mark of the second half. Mason Jones hit a triple in the corner with 4:58 to play to make the score 66-65 in favor of the Golden Flashes, and Kayden Fish made a free throw at the 2:11 mark to cut the visitor's advantage to 68-66, but Kent State scored the next five points of the game to secure the road win.
Davion Hill paced the Cardinals with 17 points and eight rebounds and added three assists, while Devon Barnes chipped in 14 points, four rebounds and two steals. Barnes scored his 1,000th career point at the NCAA Division I level on a free throw late in the first half.
Kent State (19-7, 10-3 Mid-American Conference) built a lead that peaked at 13 in the opening period and went into the halftime break up 40-31. Ball State (8-17, 3-9 MAC) turned up the defensive pressure early in the second half, collecting three steals in the first 71 seconds of the period to help trim Kent State's lead down to 40-35.
Kayden Fish (eight points, four rebounds, two assists) and Juwan Maxey (eight points, three rebounds) followed Hill and Barnes in scoring for the hosts, while Mason Jones and Preston Copeland had six points each, and Armoni Zeigler contributed five.
The Golden Flashes were led by Delrecco Gillespie who tallied game highs in points (22) and rebounds (14) on the afternoon.
Kent State won the rebounding battle 42-33 and got four more points in the paint (26-22). The visitors committed more turnovers (15-10) but generated more points off turnovers (16-12).
Ball State shot 33.9 percent (19-56) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-24) from distance and 73.3 percent (22-30) at the foul line. Kent State went 43.9 percent (25-57) on field goals including 34.6 percent (9-26) on 3-pointers and 69.6 percent (16-23) on free throws.
The Cardinals will return to the road to play at Ohio on Tuesday night.
A 9-0 scoring rally capped by a Juwan Maxey 3-pointer cut Kent State's edge to 53-50 at the 11:34 mark of the second half. Mason Jones hit a triple in the corner with 4:58 to play to make the score 66-65 in favor of the Golden Flashes, and Kayden Fish made a free throw at the 2:11 mark to cut the visitor's advantage to 68-66, but Kent State scored the next five points of the game to secure the road win.
Davion Hill paced the Cardinals with 17 points and eight rebounds and added three assists, while Devon Barnes chipped in 14 points, four rebounds and two steals. Barnes scored his 1,000th career point at the NCAA Division I level on a free throw late in the first half.
Kent State (19-7, 10-3 Mid-American Conference) built a lead that peaked at 13 in the opening period and went into the halftime break up 40-31. Ball State (8-17, 3-9 MAC) turned up the defensive pressure early in the second half, collecting three steals in the first 71 seconds of the period to help trim Kent State's lead down to 40-35.
Kayden Fish (eight points, four rebounds, two assists) and Juwan Maxey (eight points, three rebounds) followed Hill and Barnes in scoring for the hosts, while Mason Jones and Preston Copeland had six points each, and Armoni Zeigler contributed five.
The Golden Flashes were led by Delrecco Gillespie who tallied game highs in points (22) and rebounds (14) on the afternoon.
Kent State won the rebounding battle 42-33 and got four more points in the paint (26-22). The visitors committed more turnovers (15-10) but generated more points off turnovers (16-12).
Ball State shot 33.9 percent (19-56) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-24) from distance and 73.3 percent (22-30) at the foul line. Kent State went 43.9 percent (25-57) on field goals including 34.6 percent (9-26) on 3-pointers and 69.6 percent (16-23) on free throws.
The Cardinals will return to the road to play at Ohio on Tuesday night.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball // Post Game Press Conference vs Buffalo
Thursday, February 12
Men's Basketball // Post Game Press Conference at Louisiana Monroe
Sunday, February 08
Men's Basketball // Post Game Press Conference at Toledo
Saturday, January 31
This Week in Ball State Sports Podcast // Jeff Mitchell and Michael Lewis
Thursday, January 29