Central Michigan University Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels To Loyola-Chicago
12/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2000
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- The Central Michigan University men's basketball team looks to get back to its winning ways this week with a pair of non-conference games.
CMU travels to Loyola University-Chicago (1-4, 0-0 Midwestern Collegiate) to take on the Ramblers in the Gentile Center on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 8:05 p.m. (7 p.m. CST). The Chippewas return home on Saturday, Dec. 9, to host Northern Iowa (2-2, 0-0 Missouri Valley) in Rose Arena at 2 p.m.
Following CMU's two games this week, Central will have a week off for final exams.
"We've got another challenging week ahead of us," coach Jay Smith said. "There are things we can take away from the Illinois State loss and if the players accept and understand them, we'll be a better team."
The Chippewas are 2-0 on the road this season and Central will look to keep the streak alive at Loyola. The Ramblers are the second of three Midwestern Collegiate teams the Chippewas are scheduled to meet this season -- CMU defeated Illinois-Chicago (70-56) and is set to meet Detroit on Dec. 18. "Loyola is going to be a hungry team and so are we coming off the loss," Smith said. "We've got to come out and play at both ends of the floor. Defense and rebounding will be key. David Bailey can really create on the offensive end as he leads the team in scoring (18.0 ppg) and assists (6.0 apg)."
CMU meets its final Missouri Valley Conference team on Saturday when it hosts Northern Iowa. The Panthers are dealing with the loss of two starters to injury already this season.
"UNI is a veteran, athletic team that is physical," Smith said. "It looks to use its athleticism to penetrate and get to the offensive glass. Booker Warren, a JC transfer, has been making a big impact for UNI this season."
The Panthers play at Iowa on Tuesday before traveling to Mount Pleasant.
The Chippewas will be retiring former great Don Edwards' jersey as part of Saturday's game. Edwards ranks fourth on both CMU's career scoring (1,402) and rebounding (919) lists.
Central is looking to get back on track during the upcoming week after suffering its first loss of the season after defeating Drake to make it four straight wins to start the season.
The Chippewas won on the road at Drake in a tight one, 73-68. CMU led 33-29 at the break and then trailed by one twice early in the second half. Two David Webber (Farmington Hills/Jr.) three-pointers sparked Central's final run with eight and a half minutes left.
The Bulldogs trailed by six with just over a minute left and then began to foul Central. The Chippewas were 6-for-8 from the line in the closing seconds.
Webber led CMU with a game-high 24 points. Tim Kisner (Hopkins/Sr.) added 12 points and six assists, including two three pointers. Freshman Gerrit Brigitha (Niles/Fr.) scored 10 points for his second straight double figure game.
CMU shot .511 from the floor compared to Drake's .357 mark.
An 85-73 loss to Illinois State on Sunday ended Central's four-game winning streak. The Chippewas held on to a slim lead throughout the first half and led 33-30 at the intermission.
With 10:56 remaining in the game and CMU leading 47-44, Webber picked up his fourth foul. After that the Redbirds went on a 12-2 run to take a six- point lead, an advantage they wouldn't lose.
"We had a few defensive lapses and Illinois State capitalized on them," Smith said. "Those few plays cost us the game. We've got the have the ability to fight through that and recognize those situations. We also need better production out of our bench, both offensively and defensively. When people come in off the bench we've got to be able to maintain the lead."
ISU sealed the win by going 14-for-16 in the final 2:38 of the game.
Tarise Bryson scored a career-high 41 points for the Redbirds. He was 17-for-18 from the free throw line and hit four three-pointers.
Kisner and Brigitha each had 20 points and six rebounds for CMU. Kisner was 10-for-11 from the line with a pair of three-pointers and Brigitha was 8-for-11 from the floor. Mike Manciel (Detroit/So.) had 11 points and five rebounds.
THE OPPONENTS: Loyola is 1-4 this season with the lone win coming at home against Tennessee Tech (76-73). Two of the Ramblers' losses are by less than four points. LUC is 1-0 at home this year.
Sophomore guard David Bailey has led the team in scoring the last three games. He's averaging 18.0 points and 6.0 assists per game. Six-eight senior Schin Kerr adds 14.2 points per game.
Coach Larry Farmer is in his third season at Loyola and ninth as a head coach. He played at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden. He was an assistant at UCLA during two of the Bruins' Final Four appearances.
Northern Iowa has won two straight heading into Tuesday's game at Iowa. UNI dropped games to Montana (72-58) and Iowa State (69-55) to open the season before defeating Texas-Pan American (73-70) and Jackson State (54-49).
Junior college transfer Booker Warren is averaging 12.8 points per game. Forward Aaron Middendorf is averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.
Sam Weaver is in his third season as the Panthers' head coach. He has guided UNI to a 25-35 record over the last three seasons.
THE SERIES: CMU is 1-0 against both opponents in the all-time series with both meetings coming at a tournament hosted by Evansville. CMU defeated Loyola, 70-68, at the Evansville Holiday Classic during the 1976-77 season. The Chippewas defeated Northern Iowa, 51-50, at the Krystal Invitational during the 1984-85 campaign.
MID-MAJOR FOES: CMU faces opponents from two of the top mid-major conferences in the country this week in Loyola-Chicago of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference and Northern Iowa of the Missouri Valley Conference. CMU plays three teams from each of the conferences this season. Central is 36-36 all-time against MCC teams and 39-64 versus MVC squads
HITTING THE FREEBIES: CMU ranks second in the MAC and ninth nationally with a .795 free throw percentage. Senior Tim Kisner has hit 23-of-25 attempts from the stripe this season for a .920 mark and David Webber is 35-for-43 (.814).
WINNING WITH DEFENSE: Defense had been the backbone of CMU's early success but the Chippewas found it hard to get stops against Illinois State. CMU ranks second in the MAC in defense allowing 63.8 points per game and tops in field goal percentage defense (.362). Illinois State shot .583 from the floor in the second half against CMU.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS: Central ranks fifth in the MAC in rebounding with an average of 36.0 boards per game. However, the Chippewas rank last in the conference in offensive boards with only 9.4 rebounds coming on that end of the floor. CMU has won the battle of the boards in three of its five games this season, including the loss to Illinois State.
STREAK HALTED: The Chippewas four-game winning streak was the longest since CMU won four straight during the 1990-91 season. It was also the most to open a season since the 1980-81 team won five straight out of the blocks.
WINNING ON THE ROAD: CMU has already matched its road win total from last year with two. In fact, CMU hasn't won more than three road games in a season under Jay Smith. With the win over Drake, CMU won back-to-back games away from Rose Arena for the first time since 1991-92 when Central won two straight at neutral sites. Central hadn't won two straight "true" road games since 1990-91.
DOING TIME AT THE LINE: Senior Tim Kisner averaged 16.0 points per game last week posting 12 at Drake and 20 versus Illinois State. More than half of his 43 points this season are from the free throw line where he is 23-for-25. Kisner also hit two three-pointers in each of last week's games to raise his career total to 125, fifth-best in CMU history. With another five, he could move all the way up to the No. 3 spot. The guard needs only two more assists to move into the top five of another CMU career list. He currently has 327 career assists, two behind Willie Iverson's mark of 329. Kisner ranks among the MAC leaders in free throw percentage (4th/.920), assists (9th/.4.40), assist/turnover (13th/1.47) and steals (t-14th/1.20).
PROGRESS REPORT: Gerrit Brigitha has been making progress in the post. In the last three games, he is averaging 13.7 points after being held without a point or a rebound at Purdue. He's also averaging 5.0 rebounds per game over the recent stretch. He is shooting .633 from the floor (19-for-30) to rank fifth in the MAC. The freshman has started all five games for Central this season.
"Gerrit is starting to play like a veteran," coach Smith said after the Illinois State game. "I really liked the way he banged, defended and shot against ISU. He's got a special focus right now."
SEASON FIRST: CMU's leading scorer David Webber was held to single digits for the first time this season against Illinois State. He had nine points on 1-for-10 shooting. In CMU's first four games of the season, Webber took home game-high honors, including scoring 24 points in three straight games. The guard ranks fourth in the MAC with a 19.4 ppg average.
HALFWAY THERE: Sophomore Mike Manciel is now halfway to the 1,000 career point plateau. He has 505 career points after scoring 11 in the loss to Illinois State. Manciel only had three points at Drake, marking the third time in 31 career games he was held to single digits. The 6-5 forward leads the team in rebounding with 5.6 rebounds per game.
STILL LOOKING: Sophomore Chad Pleiness (Scottville/So.) is still looking for his first double figure game this season. He had eight points in each of CMU's two games last week and is averaging 7.0 points on the season. Pleiness leads the team in offensive rebounds with 10 and he's averaging 4.8 boards per game. The forward is 13-for-15 from the free throw line with a .867 mark, 10th best in the MAC.
BLOCK PARTY: Seven-footer Chris Kaman (Wyoming/Fr.) is averaging 5.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game. He has had a block in every game after starting the season by swatting four Spring Arbor shots. Kaman hasn't scored in double figures since posting 11 in the opener against Spring Arbor.
UP NEXT: CMU takes a week off for final exams before traveling to Detroit on Monday, Dec. 18.
