Ball State University Athletics
Tuesday, January 6
Muncie, Ind.
7 PM
Ball State University
4-11,0-3MAC
52
vs
74
Eastern Michigan
8-8,2-2MAC
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Eastern Mich.
39
35
74
Ball St.
25
27
52
Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics
Men's Basketball Suffers MAC Loss to Eastern Michigan
January 06, 2026 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team got out to a 20-14 lead midway through the first half but Eastern Michigan took control of the game from there in a 74-52 road win for the Eagles on Tuesday night at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals claimed the six-point edge at the 11:16 mark of the opening period following a 3-pointer by Devon Barnes, but the visitors closed the first half on a 25-5 run to take a 39-25 advantage into the break.
Ball State (4-11, 0-3 Mid-American Conference) got 15 points and four assists from Armoni Zeigler and 13 points from Elmore James IV, but they were the only two Cardinals with more than five points on the night.
Eastern Michigan (8-8, 2-2 MAC) was paced by Carlos Hart (18 points) and Addison Patterson (12 points) offensively and held advantages in rebounding (37-18), points in the paint (28-18) and second chance points (10-2) to take the conference road win.
The hosts shot 33.3 percent (17-51) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-16) on 3-pointers and 86.7 percent (13-15) at the foul line. Eastern went 58 percent (29-50) on field goals including 52.4 percent (11-21) from distance.
Ball State committed seven fewer turnovers (14-7) to help attain a 16-13 edge in points off turnovers, but the visiting Eagles got 20 more points from its bench (32-12) for the game.
Next up for the Cardinals is a two-game road swing starting Saturday afternoon at UMass.
The Cardinals claimed the six-point edge at the 11:16 mark of the opening period following a 3-pointer by Devon Barnes, but the visitors closed the first half on a 25-5 run to take a 39-25 advantage into the break.
Ball State (4-11, 0-3 Mid-American Conference) got 15 points and four assists from Armoni Zeigler and 13 points from Elmore James IV, but they were the only two Cardinals with more than five points on the night.
Eastern Michigan (8-8, 2-2 MAC) was paced by Carlos Hart (18 points) and Addison Patterson (12 points) offensively and held advantages in rebounding (37-18), points in the paint (28-18) and second chance points (10-2) to take the conference road win.
The hosts shot 33.3 percent (17-51) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-16) on 3-pointers and 86.7 percent (13-15) at the foul line. Eastern went 58 percent (29-50) on field goals including 52.4 percent (11-21) from distance.
Ball State committed seven fewer turnovers (14-7) to help attain a 16-13 edge in points off turnovers, but the visiting Eagles got 20 more points from its bench (32-12) for the game.
Next up for the Cardinals is a two-game road swing starting Saturday afternoon at UMass.
Team Stats
EMU
BSU
FG%
.580
.333
3FG%
.524
.313
FT%
.833
.867
RB
37
18
TO
14
7
STL
1
6
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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