Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Northern Ill
Chippewas March Into First Place
2/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2003
DeKALB, Ill - Can Central Michigan University win a men's basketball game without Chris Kaman dominating the action?
Well, the answer is a resounding "yes!"
Weighed down by foul troubles and a suffocating zone defense, the 7-0 junior was held to just six points and seven rebounds here Saturday afternoon in the showdown for first place in the Mid-American Conference's West Division.
However, the Chippewas rode the fabulous efforts of a number of players en route to a convincing 87-75 victory over Northern Illinois University.
With the win, CMU is now all alone in first place in the MAC West with an 11-3 record while the host Huskies fall to 10-4. The Chippewas are 18-5 for the season, NIU is now 14-10.
"We got great play off the bench," said CMU head coach Jay Smith. "Without their efforts, we'd likely have left here with an 'L' instead of a win.
"That's the reason we practice so hard. We've got to get everyone ready to play, and today it paid off."
While seniors J.R. Wallace and Mike Manciel more than held their own against NIU, 6-8 junior Adam Dentlinger was the story of the game. He entered the game averaging one point per game but scored a career-high 14 points and collected three rebounds filling in for Kaman. He was six-of-six from the floor.
Also coming off the bench, freshman Brandon Voorhees added three points to go along with four assists and four rebounds while senior Whitney Robinson chipped in with six points.
Of course, the Chippewas can't overlook the efforts of Wallace, the springy 6-0 guard who bagged a career-high 27 points. He hit seven three-pointers in 14 tries.
And, the 6-5 Manciel added 21 points, hitting eight-of-10 from the field and all five of his free throws.
Northern Illinois held a 38-35 halftime lead but the second half was all CMU despite the fact that Kaman fouled out with 7:26 remaining. The Chippewas took the lead for good at 49-47 with 15:34 to play on a three-pointer by Robinson. CMU extended the lead to 14 points on three different occasions.
An interesting stat is that CMU picked up 26 assists on just 28 baskets. Sophomore Tony Bowne led the way with seven while T.J. Meerman and Wallace added six each. NIU had 14 assists for its 27 baskets.
The Chippewas also won the battle of the boards against the MAC's top rebounding team, 28-26.
It was another outstanding shooting day for CMU, nailing 28-of-49 shots for 57 percent compared to the Huskies' 47.4 percent on 27-of-57. The Chippewas also meshed 20-of-22 from the foul line for 90.9 percent.
CMU puts its six-game winning streak on the line at home on Tuesday night when Akron come to Rose Arena for a game at 7 p.m.
