Miami Picks up Road Win over Ball State, Moves to 2-0 in 2025
By: Jack Mueller
Image by: Megan Walker
The Miami RedHawks won their fourth straight game, and their second in MAC play, on Tuesday night. Travis Steele’s team defeated Ball State on the road 80-72 to remain undefeated in the new year.
Kam Craft once again led the way for the RedHawks on offense, demonstrating why his coach refers to him as the “best scorer in the conference.” Craft scored 28 points on 66% from the field, connecting on four crucial threes to propel his team to the win. The Xavier transfer has now scored 10+ in all but two of his games in a Miami jersey.
Craft was excellent, but if Miami’s offense as a whole plays at the level they did against the Cardinals, they will be a tough team to beat. The ‘Hawks shot 55% from the field, with Eian Elmer and Mekhi Cooper adding 21 combined points on 63% shooting. As a team, Miami registered 20 assists on 31 field goals, showcasing their ability to move the ball effectively. After the three-point shot went cold for a period, Steele’s side adjusted. Reece Potter found four teammates on back-cuts for easy layups to change the pace of their attack.
Ball State kept it within one possession for the vast majority of the game, largely due to the efforts of Payton Sparks and Jermahri Hill. Sparks registered his second consecutive double-double, scoring 20 and adding 16 boards. The veteran big man was a nuisance all day, forcing Miami’s forwards into foul trouble in the second half.
Hill, Ball State’s leading scorer, started slow, but grew into the game, and connected on two massive buckets through contact to keep the game within reach for the home team.
Neither team could find a rhythm early in the game. Miami’s Antwoine Woolfolk scored the game's only two field goals, scoring four points in the first four minutes of play. At the first media timeout, the RedHawks had held their hosts to just one point, forcing four missed shots and a turnover. Kam Craft extended the lead to 7-1, connecting on his first three of the game. Ethan Brittain Watts finally scored Ball State’s first field goal, making a three with 13 minutes on the clock.
Ball State started building momentum from there, going 3-4 from the field to take a 10-9 lead before Luke Skaljac gave Miami a narrow lead. Craft extended that lead with another sharp three-pointer before Payton Sparks responded with a put-back under the rim. Hernandez tied the game again at 14 with a steal and dunk for his first points of the night.
The two sides traded leads, with neither side able to pull away by more than three. Eian Elmer put an exclamation point on the RedHawks’ 29-24 lead with a thunderous dunk followed by a three from the top of the arc. Jermahri Hill responded with a three of his own to cut the RedHawk lead to two.
Payton Sparks kept the Miami lead at two with his 12th points of the night, but it was the RedHawks’ leading scorer who ended the half. Miami was able to go into the break with the lead after Craft connected on his third three of the game to make the score 38-33.
Ball State cut the lead to two after the break. Gorosito found Sparks unguarded in the paint, but Reece Potter responded with his first three of the night. Both defenses kicked it into gear, holding each other scoreless for over two minutes before Pearson found the net on a put-back to make it 54-51. Back-to-back turnovers by Hendriks allowed Woolfolk to give Miami a six-point lead in the post, but Hill responded with two layups through contact to get the Cardinals back on track.
Craft got to the rim two more times to boost his point total to 26 and give Miami a 62-55 lead. Peter Suder added two more after Hill got to the line to cut the lead to five, but fouled Hernandez at the three point line to allow the Cardinals to pull within four. Suder made up for it with a layup on a back-door find by Potter.
Miami extended the lead to six via another dime from Potter, this time to Cooper, but had to deal with major foul trouble down the stretch. Elmer, Suder, Potter and Woolfolk all reached four fouls with three minutes to play in the game. Suder’s fifth field goal was a big one, making it a three possession game with a turnaround jumper. However, Woolfolk was called for his fifth foul, forcing Potter to guard Sparks down the stretch.
Sparks failed to capitalize on his free throws down the stretch, going 4-10 in the game and missing some huge free shots in the final two minutes to keep the RedHawk lead at six. Those misses forced Ball State to foul with under 90 seconds on the clock. Mekhi Cooper made all four of his free throws to keep his side ahead by eight.
Gorosito attempted two threes to cut into the lead, but they both missed the mark. Payton Sparks’ 16th rebound and 20th points got Ball State something for their efforts, but it wasn’t enough. Evan Ipsaro connected from the line to make it a three-possession game, allowing the RedHawks to run the clock down with the victory.
Miami improves to 10-4 with the win, securing their best start to a season since 2005. The RedHawks will return to Oxford to face Western Michigan (3-10) on Saturday, hoping to remain undefeated in MAC play.