Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Akron
CMU Stumbles at Akron, 83-73
1/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2002
AKRON, OHIO - The Central Michigan men's basketball team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with an 83-73 loss at Akron on Saturday afternoon.
The Chippewas fall to 6-10 on the season and 3-5 in Mid-American Conference play. Akron improved to 6-13 with a 2-6 MAC tally.
CMU shot .500 (30-for-60) from the floor but couldn't keep pace with Akron's .548 (23-for-42) shooting percentage. The loss to Akron marks the first time CMU has shot .500 or better from the floor and lost. The Chippewas were 5-0 this season when hitting on 50 percent of their shots.
Akron's three-point shooting and free throws made the difference in the game. The Zips were hitting treys at a 50-percent clip, going 8-for-16 from behind the arc. They got it done from the line as well, getting to the charity stripe 35 times in the second half. The Zips finished the game 29-for-39 (.744) from the foul line.
CMU, on the other hand, tallied only three three-pointers the entire game and were 10-for-18 (.556) from the foul line.
David Webber led the Chippewas with 17 points. Chris Kaman had a double-double. Kaman tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds. Chad Pleiness finished with 16 points and eight boards. Akron was led by Rashon Brown and his game-high 25 points. He was 6-for-10 from the floor and 13-for-18 from the stripe. Andy Hipsher tallied 22 points for Akron while Darryl Peterson added 13.
The opening stanza proved to be a back-and-fourth battle. The Zips came out gunning, opening the game with a three-pointer. But, CMU spent the ensuing four minutes building an 11-3 lead over Akron. Akron fought back, going on a 16-4 run and capturing the 19-15 lead at the 10:55 mark. David Webber knotted the game at 23 on a pair of free throws at 3:18 and the Chippewas eventually went on to hold the 30-28 lead with 1:15 left in the half. However, Akron iced two treys in the final minute to snag the 34-30 halftime lead.
The second half was all Akron as it never trailed in the final 20 minutes. The Zips would lead by as much as 17 but CMU would cut it 12 with three minutes of play left. CMU would only come as close as 10 points when the game ended.
The Chippewas will have a week off before Northern Illinois invades Rose Arena on Saturday, Feb. 2. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
