Chippewas Tip it Off at Home on Friday
11/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Central Michigan Game Notes 
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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Central Michigan men's basketball team will tip off the 2014-15 season Friday when it plays host to Alma in a non-conference game at McGuirk Arena.
Tipoff time is 7 p.m. The Chippewas are beginning their third season under coach Keno Davis.
CMU defeated Saginaw Valley State, 68-61, Sunday in an exhibition game. The Chippewas return all five starters from last year's 10-21 team, but played several newcomers in varied combinations against the Division II Cardinals.
"At times we didn't play as hard as we've been practicing," said Davis, who played 12 of the 14 players who dressed for CMU, nine of them for 12 minutes or more. "I think some of it was nerves. I'm not worried about that. That's why you have exhibition games; that's why you get out there to address some of the issues you have."
The Chippewas led throughout most of the game against Saginaw Valley, but found themselves down a point, 59-58, with just over four minutes remaining. They closed with a 10-2 surge.
Few, if any, long-term conclusions can be drawn from CMU's result against Saginaw Valley, Davis said.
"I think sometimes when you don't play your best, it's the best thing for you because you get another couple of weeks of really spirited, focused practices," he said. "Whether we had won by 20 (points) or lost by 20 it wouldn't have changed my thought about what this team can become."
CMU's starting guard trio of Braylon Rayson, Chris Fowler and Rayshawn Simmons combined to score 51 points on 14-of-31 shooting against Saginaw Valley.
That the Chippewas got major contributions from the backcourt was no surprise. That was to be expected, as is scoring punch, particularly in the form of three-pointers, from forwards John Simons and Blake Hibbitts. That pair, which averaged a combined 20 points per game last season, had just 10 points on Sunday.
What Davis is seeking - as are CMU fans - is production in the post from freshmen Luke Meyer and DaRohn Scott and redshirt freshman Milos Cabarkapa. The trio combined for 32 minutes with Scott providing the highlights - four blocks and a thunder dunk for his first two collegiate points - against Saginaw Valley.
"For a couple of years we haven't had a post presence offensively or defensively," Davis said. "But I think the amount of practice in games and our game experience will help us learn how to take advantage of the size that we have.
"We're far from a finished product, but I like what I've seen so far and still understand we're going to have some growing pains along the way. There's going to be some nights and some instances in games where we're going to look like a team with one senior. But our younger players are more experienced than most. I think that's why we're so optimistic."
The theme running through the season for the Chippewas is the energy they bring, day in and day out, and the energy with which they attack, Davis said.
And they can't waiver from that, he added.
"We've built this team in the past so that I think most fans would come in and say, `Man they might be undersized or they might be underskilled, but they work hard, they look like they want it,'" he said. "As we've become more talented, as we've gotten a year older, we can't lose that. If anything we've got to pick up the intensity and see more and more of that."
Davis said he will be looking for the Chippewas to make strides in several areas on Friday, as he will throughout the season. CMU, which plays its first five games at home, entertains Youngstown State on Tuesday, Nov. 18, then welcomes in Maine and Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the Central Michigan Tournament beginning Friday, Nov. 21.
"The areas where we need to improve to become a better team, to be a championship team, is we've got to be a better defensive team and we've got to rebound," Davis said. "Those were the two areas last year that we struggled in and we feel like we've addressed those issues with our personnel, but yet we've to continue to improve. We've got to become a better rebounding team and a better defensive team than we showed against Saginaw Valley State."
Alma finished 7-18 a year ago and returns 6-foot-3 junior forward D.J. Beckman, who led the Scots in scoring last season at 14.3 points per game.
