The injury that could have severely affected the men's basketball team's season may only affect the team for one game.
MRI tests concluded that junior Peyton Stovall suffered a left knee sprain and will be listed day-to-day for Saturday's game against Butler. Stovall, who is averaging 15 points per game this season, will go through treatment and rehabilitation the rest of the week and his recovery will determine if he plays on Saturday.
Stovall suffered the knee injury in Ball State University's win over Wright State on Saturday when he went up for a rebound and fell to the floor holding his left knee. Stovall stayed on the ground for a few minutes before walking himself to Ball State's bench.
The sprain occurred in the same knee that Stovall suffered an ACL tear in last season's Mid-American Conference first-round tournament game.
Coach Tim Buckley said he has been impressed with how Stovall has handled the injury.
"We feel really good about how he's responded to the whole situation," Buckley said. "Everybody's optimistic and we're just trying to be as positive as we can be."
If Stovall doesn't play on Saturday, Buckley will turn to freshman Maurice Acker to play the point guard position. Acker's playing style is similar to Stovall's because he is a playmaker who can also score. Other players who Buckley said could step into the point position are juniors Chris Ames, Skip Mills and freshman Jalon Perryman.
"We're looking at just trying to find out different guards who might be able to step up," Buckley said.
Another player who could step into the role is junior Darren Yates. Buckley said Yates could be ready to play in Saturday's game against Butler. Yates met with doctors yesterday to determine if he can play and practice for this weekend.
"We just want to make sure everything's in place and ready to go," Buckley said. "He's done a terrific job of maintaining stamina and keeping his weight down. I think it's just a matter of getting on the court and getting back in shape."
The 6-foot-2-inch guard had surgery in mid-October to repair a stress fracture in his right foot. He was expected to miss six to eight weeks and at least the first two games of the regular season. Yates averaged 3.9 points per game in 28 games last season.
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