The University of Akron men’s basketball team hosts Ball State University on Tuesday, Jan. 13 in its fifth Mid-American Conference game this season.
The Zips are the reigning MAC regular-season and MAC Tournament champs, and reached the NCAA Tournament last season.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Return throughout the night for live updates from Rhodes Arena.
Akron wins 87-77 over Ball State in NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron tops Ball State 87-77. Tavari Johnson leads the Zips with 22 points and seven assists.
Akron’s Amani Lyles finishes with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Shammah Scott scores 18 points, Evan Mahaffey scores 10 points and Bowen Hardman scores six points.
Armoni Zeigler scores 30 points for Ball State, Elmore James IV finishes with 17 points and Davion Hill scores 15 points.
Akron leads Ball State 76-65 in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Ball State trims into Akron’s lead as Armoni Zeigler continues to score.
Zeigler makes a 3-pointer and Akron coach John Groce calls a timeout with 4:27 to go in the second half. The Zips lead the Cardinals 76-65. The Cardinals are on a 13-2 run. Cam Denson made a 3-pointer before Zeigler’s 3-pointer. Zeigler has seven of the 13 points during the surge.
Zeigler has 27 points for Ball State, Elmore James IV is at 17 points and Davion Hill has 11 points.
Akron’s Tavari Johnson is at 22 points after scoring five points in the first half. Amani Lyles has 16 points. Evan Mahaffey and Shammah Scott have 10 points apiece, and Bowen Hardman has six points.
Akron leads Ball State 74-52 in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 74-52 with 7:35 to go in the second half. Tavari Johnson is making just about every shot he takes in the second half and is up a game-high 22 points after scoring five points in the first half.
Akron’s Zach Halligan made a 3-pointer with 7:38 to go to give the Zips a 22-point lead.
Akron’s Amani Lyles has 14 points. Evan Mahaffey and Shammah Scott have 10 points apiece, and Bowen Hardman has six points.
Armoni Zeigler has 20 points for Ball State, Elmore James IV is at 17 points and Davion Hill has 11 points.
Akron leads Ball State 60-45 in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 60-45 with 11:45 to go in the second half. The Zips were up by 19 points (57-38) after Tavari Johnson made a layup with 15:10 remaining on the clock. Ognjen Stankovic made a 2-point field goal for the Zips after Johnson’s layup.
Johnson is up to 15 points and Amani Lyles has 14 points. Evan Mahaffey and Shammah Scott have eight points apiece, and Bowen Hardman has six points.
Armoni Zeigler has 18 points for Ball State, Elmore James IV is at 14 points and Davion Hill has nine points.
Akron leads Ball State 53-35 in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 53-35 with 15:55 to go in the second half.
Akron is on a 10-1 run to open the second half, and a 25-7 surge after Ball State tied the score at 28-28 with 7:18 to go in the first half. Tavari Johnson has made a layup, a jumper and two free throws in the opening moments of the second half, Amani Lyles made a 2-point shot and Evan Mahaffey added two free throws.
Lyles leads Akron with 14 points, Tavari Johnson has 11 points and Shammah Scott has eight points.
Armoni Zeigler has 18 points for Ball State and Elmore James IV is at 11 points.
Akron leads Ball State 43-34 at halftime of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 43-34 at halftime.
Akron concludes first half on a 15-6 run after Ball State tied the score at 28-28 with 7:18 to go in the first half.
Akron’s Amani Lyles has made two free throws, two 3-pointers and a 2-point shot in the paint during the run. Eric Mahaffey added a 3-pointer and Tavari Johnson made layup.
Lyles leads Akron with 12 points and seven rebounds. Shammah Scott has eight points. Evan Mahaffey and Bowen Hardman have six points apiece. Tavari Johnson has five points and five assists.
Armoni Zeigler has 18 points for Ball State and Elmore James IV is up to 11 points.
Akron leads Ball State 38-32 in first half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 38-32 with 2:51 to go in the first half.
Akron is on a 10-4 run after Ball State tied the score at 28-28. Amani Lyles has made two free throws, a 3-pointer and a 2-point shot in the paint during the run. Eric Mahaffey added a 3-pointer.
Lyles leads Akron with nine points and Shammah Scott has eight points.
Armoni Zeigler has 18 points for Ball State and Elmore James IV is up to 11 points.
Ball State draws even with Akron 28-28 in first half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Armoni Zeigler makes a layup and Ball State has drawn even with Akron at 28-28 with 7:18 remaining in the first half.
Zeigler leads all scorers with 18 points.
Akron leads Ball State 28-26 in first half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 28-26 with 7:43 to go in the first half.
Armoni Zeigler has 16 points for Ball State and Elmore James IV is up to seven points.
Zeigler made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions and James made a layup to trim Ball State’s deficit to two points.
Akron leads Ball State 23-15 in first half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 23-15 with 11:17 to go in the first half.
Evan Mahaffey and Shammah Scott have six points apiece for Akron.
Armoni Zeigler has eight points for Ball State.
Akron leads Ball State 14-2 in first half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 14-2 with 15:57 to go in the first half after Evan Mahaffey converts a 3-point play (layup and free throw). That is his second 3-point play tonight.
Armoni Zeigler made a layup for Ball State.
Akron leads Ball State 8-0 in first half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Ball State 8-0. Cardinals coach Michael Lewis calls a timeout with 17:26 to go in the first half after Sharron Young makes a 3-pointer.
Akron’s Amani Lyles made a layup and Evan Mahaffey made a layup and free throw prior to the Young 3.
What is Akron’s record and Ball State’s record in men’s basketball this season?
Akron enters Tuesday with a 12-4 overall record and a 3-1 mark in MAC play. Ball State is 4-12 overall and 0-4 in MAC play.
Akron men’s basketball starters vs. Ball State
Ball State men’s basketball starters vs. Akron
Akron men’s basketball at a glance
A season-low point total from Tavari Johnson didn’t slow down the University of Akron men’s basketball team Jan. 9 in a 77-67 win at Bowling Green.
Amani Lyles recorded his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Bowling Green (11-6, 2-3). He made 7 of 9 shots from the field, including 7 of 7 from 2-point range. The Zips were a plus-15 with Lyles on the floor.
Despite Johnson scoring just four points — 16 points below his average entering the game — Akron never trailed Bowling Green, which beat Big 12 foe Kansas State 82-66 on Dec. 1.
Johnson’s tough shooting day (1 of 7 on 3-pointers) didn’t impact his playmaking, as he totaled seven assists. The Zips were plus-7 with Johnson on the floor.
Other Zips who stepped up against Bowling Green, in addition to Lyles, were Bowen Hardman (15 points), Eric Mahaffey (14 points, seven rebounds), Sharron Young (10 points, four assists), Shammah Scott (nine points) and Evan Mahaffey (six points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals).
Ball State men’s basketball at a glance
Ball State has lost three games in a row and is 0-7 in away games. The Cardinals lost 86-77 to Miami, 85-72 to Buffalo, 74-52 to Eastern Michigan and 79-71 to Massachusetts in MAC play.
Ball State’s leading scorers are Davion Hill (11.6 points), Armoni Zeigler (10.7) and Joey Hart (9.0).
Where is Akron in the MAC men’s basketball standings?
Miami (17-0, 5-0) remains atop the MAC standings.
Akron is one of five MAC teams with one league loss, joining Buffalo (13-3, 3-1), Kent State (12-4, 3-1), Ohio (10-7, 4-1) and Toledo (9-7, 3-1).
A look at Akron coach John Groce and Ball State coach Michael Lewis
John Groce is in his ninth season as Akron’s head coach and 18th season overall as a head coach with a four-year stint and a five-year stint at Illinois. He has an overall record of 362-224 and a mark of 180-92 with Akron.
The Zips have posted a 149-58 overall record since the 2019-20 season and a 87-28 conference record in that same span under Groce. Akron is 114-15 at home during Groce’s time as coach. Akron recorded its 800th win at the Division I level against Concord on Dec. 29, 2025.
Akron has made back-to-back NCAA Tournament Appearances in 2024 and 2025 with two MAC Tournament titles. Groce is tied with former Zips coach Keith Dambrot for the most league tournament titles (three) by one coach in Akron’s Division I history.
Ball State is led by fourth-year coach Michael Lewis, who was a standout guard at Indiana University from 1996-2000 under former coach Bob Knight. Lewis concluded his career as Indiana’s all-time leader in assists (545). He now ranks second behind Yogi Ferrell (633).
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips basketball score, live updates, highlights vs. Ball State
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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