At a glance
- NIU suffers second-straight loss, sixth in past seven games
- Huskies struggle in second-worst shooting night of season
- NIU drops to 12th in Mid-American Conference standings
After trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half, the NIU men’s basketball team stormed back in the closing minutes to cut the deficit to three points but ultimately fell to conference foe Ball State 58-53 on Saturday afternoon inside Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana.
With the Cardinals leading 54-46 with just under two minutes to play, Hassan “Tre” Washington made a pair of free throws to spark a 7-2 NIU run. Daemar Kelly followed with a layup before Dylan Ducommun knocked down a triple to cut the Ball State lead to three, 56-53, with 6.3 seconds remaining. However, an ensuing foul on Ball State’s Davion Hill sent him to the charity stripe, where he converted both free throws to put the game out of reach.
The defeat marks NIU’s (6-13, 2-6 MAC) second consecutive loss and its sixth in the past seven outings, while Ball State (7-13, 3-5 MAC) has won its third-straight game. The Huskies’ 53 points were their lowest scoring total of the 2025-26 campaign and their fewest since Jan. 7, 2025, when NIU scored 50 in a loss to Kent State.
NIU also turned in one of its worst offensive performances of the season, shooting just 34.6% (18 of 52) from the field and 14.3% (4 of 28) from 3-point range — both the second-worst marks of the season.
Gianni Cobb led the Huskies with 11 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Makhai Valentine scored 10 points and pulled down four rebounds while Taj Walters posted nine points and seven rebounds. Ball State’s Armoni Zeigler and Hill led all players with 18 points each.
How it happened
NIU was forced to chase from the start as Ball State sprung out to a 13-4 lead six minutes into the contest — primarily using a 7-0 scoring burst. Walters ended the run with a layup to put the Huskies back within seven.
The Cardinals reached a double-digit advantage, 21-11, with 7:32 left in the opening half. NIU responded with back-to-back Cobb layups to cut its deficit to a half-dozen with 6:33 until the break. Ball State then grew its lead to nine before Gustav Winther trimmed the gap to seven with a pair of free throws, leaving NIU down 29-22 at halftime.
Ball State struck first in the second stanza with a layup and a 3-pointer to take its largest lead of the afternoon. Valentine then scored five-straight points to once again make it a seven-point game, 36-29.
The Huskies embarked on a 10-7 run over the next seven minutes to further cut their deficit down to four with 8:44 to go. Later down by six, Valentine connected on a 3-pointer to bring NIU within three, 47-44, with just under six minutes left.
Ball State answered with a 7-2 burst as its cushion inflated to 54-46 with 1:56 remaining. Washington then went perfect from the free-throw line to kick off what would be an unsuccessful rally.
With the loss, NIU fell to 12th place in the MAC standings, only ahead of Central Michigan (5-15, 1-7 MAC), one of its lone conference wins. The Huskies are now 1-10 on the road this season and 12-40 all-time when playing in Muncie.
NIU will return home to host Western Michigan (8-12, 2-6 MAC) at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside the Convocation Center, where the Huskies will look to snap a three-game losing skid against the Broncos.
