The Cardinals (10-12, 4-6) were led in scoring by Jermahri Hill, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Payton Sparks added 15 points for Ball State. Mickey Pearson Jr. finished with 12 points.
Akron led Ball State at the half, 38-36, with Young (11 points) its high scorer before the break. Johnson's layup with 13:21 remaining in the second half gave Akron the lead for good at 54-52.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.