Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Akron
Chippewas Fall for the First Time at Home
2/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2003
MOUNT PLEASANT - Central Michigan University's six-game winning streak came to an end here Tuesday night as the University of Akron claimed a 70-69 Mid-American Conference victory.
However, despite the loss, CMU remained in first place in the MAC West thanks to a 59-56 Northern Illinois loss at Miami University.
The Chippewas are now 18-6 for the season and 11-4 in conference action. Akron evens its record at 12-12 and goes to 7-8 in MAC play. It marked CMU's first home loss this season, stopping a streak of 10 in a row in Rose Arena. NIU is in second place in the MAC West at 10-5.
Poor marksmanship plagued the normally sharp shooting CMU cagers. The Chippewas entered the game as the conference's top shooting team at 50.7 percent but managed to hit only 40.7 percent on 22-of-54.
Akron, meanwhile, had the hot hand. The Zips meshed 31-of-52 from the field for 59.6 percent.
CMU trailed most of the game, failing on a number of occasions to hit the big shot at the key time. In the first half, the Chippewas only lead on three occasions by one point each. Akron led at the half, 35-31, and grabbed as much as an 11-point advantage in the second half, 44-33, with 17:33 to go.
The home team would not go down without a fight, though.
A pair of free throws by Mike Manciel with 5:19 to play gave CMU its lone lead of the second half, 59-58. A three-pointer by Manciel with 17 seconds to go cut the Akron lead to 70-69. When the Zips' Andy Hipsher missed the first shot of a one-and-one with 14 seconds to play, the Chippewas had a chance for the win . However, CMU worked the ball around too long and failed to get a good shot off before the game ended.
Junior guard John Hollingsworth stole game-high scoring laurels for the Zips with 26 points followed by Andy Hipsher's 15 and Darryl Peterson's 11.
CMU was led by Manciel's 23 points while 7-0 Chris Kaman added 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Whitney Robinson bagged 11.
CMU held a narrow edge in rebounding, 30-29, and had less turnovers than the Zips, 18-16.
The Chippewas return to action this Saturday at home against Eastern Michigan. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
