CMU Hosts Maine, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Valparaiso
11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Central Michigan Game Notes 
| Maine Game Notes | Tournament Central
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippwas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - So far, mostly good for the Central Michigan men's basketball team.
Coach Keno Davis and the Chippewas will look to continue to build early season momentum this weekend when they host the Central Michigan Tournament at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas (2-0) play Maine (0-2) at 7 p.m. Friday and Arkansas Pine Bluff (1-2) at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Valparaiso and Pine Bluff open the event on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Maine and Valparaiso are scheduled to play at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
CMU is looking for its first 3-0 start since 2000-01. The Chippewas opened with a 106-64 victory over Division III Alma, then topped Youngstown State, 75-63, on Tuesday.
The Chippewas outrebounded both the Scots and Penguins by wide margins, and held both to under 39 percent field goal shooting.
Both numbers are good signs that the Chippewas are making strides in two critical areas, defense and rebounding, that coach Keno Davis has stressed throughout the preseason.
Before, "we needed to have an unbelievable effort in those areas to stay in games," he said.
The addition of inside size in freshmen Luke Meyer and DeRohn Scott has paid immediate dividends. Meyer, 6-feet-11, had 13 points and nine rebounds before fouling out against Youngstown State; while Scott, 6-8 ½, had four rebounds and two blocks in just nine minutes.
"The depth at the inside positions as well as the quality of talent in those spots give us not only a better opportunity each and every night, but I think really the future of CMU basketball revolves around the recruiting efforts of these assistant coaches for these past 2 ½ years and the hard work that they've put in to get us to this point," Davis said.
Translation: It's been a long process to get the Chippewas to where they are now, and the journey is a long way from its completion.
But it's nice to get the tangible reward of victories, Davis said.
"It's nice to be able to get those wins, and yet we know that we're going to go through some growing pains and we've got to stay committed to what we're doing and getting better each and every day," he said.
While the youngsters in the frontcourt continue to develop and grow, the backcourt has given Davis all that he expected, chiefly scoring and leadership.
Nobody, least of all Davis, is putting too much stock in the modest 2-0 start. It's nice, certainly, and it has given the Chippewas a confidence boost, a crucial element on a team that, despite the number of returnees, is still relatively young.
"I think it's really important for us to get off to a good start not only to play well but to be able to notch a few wins to start the year," Davis said. "You've got a lot of these players going through it for the first time, four players in our rotation are first-year players. Some of the other guys have just been in the program for one year and we only have one senior.
"To be able to play with confidence, where you get on a winning streak, to be able to fill McGuirk with more and more fans and they want to come out and support a winning program, it's all important to speed the process to be able to be successful."
Maine's roster features players from the United States, Canada, Nigeria, Serbia and Germany. Four Black Bears - Zarko Valjarevic, Shaun Lawton, Ethan Mackey and Till Gloger - average between 10.5 and 13.0 points per game.
The Black Bears opened with a 98-58 loss at Butler, then fell 90-86 at New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Arkansas Pine Bluff went 1-2 in the season-opening Outrigger Hawaii Classic. The Lions defeated Cal State-Bakersfield, 56-49; and lost to Hawaii, 85-57; and to High Point, 74-62.
Marcel Mosley, a 6-foot- junior guard, leads Pine Bluff in scoring at 19.7 points per game, while Jovaughn Love averages 14.7.
