Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Look to Bounce Back
12/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Central Michigan Game Notes 
| SIU Edwardsville Game Notes | | ESPN3
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Nobody likes to lose, least of all coach Keno Davis and his Central Michigan men's basketball team.
Still, a lot of long- and short-term good can come from a loss, which, in any season for any team, is inevitable. The first litmus test for any team is how it responds after dropping a game.
That's the scenario on Saturday (1 p.m.) as CMU plays host to Southern Illinois Edwardsville at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas suffered their first loss of the season, Tuesday, at Bradley, 84-73. CMU was attempting to begin a season 6-0 for the first time since 1963-64. As it stands, the Chippewas are 5-1 and off to their best start since 2002-03 and a win Saturday gives them their first 6-0 start at home since that season.
"To play on the road, in a hostile environment, (against) a strong, tough Missouri Valley (Conference) team, and Missouri Valley officials," Davis said, reflecting on Tuesday's loss. "Those things are very good experiences for us because we have to understand how to fight through adversity.
"I think it also exposed some things that we needed to get back on the practice court and work on. It was a good game for us and it will help us prepare for some of the more physical teams in the MAC and hopefully it gets us ready for Saturday as well."
SIU Edwardsville is 1-4 after falling, 79-67, to SIU Carbondale on Wednesday. The Cougars' lone victory came over Harris-Stowe, an NAIA school, in their season opener.
Kris Davis (15.4 points per game) and Donivine Stewart (15.2) are the Cougars' leading scorers. Stewart is a 6-foot guard who transferred to Edwardsville from Bradley, while Davis is a 6-2 senior guard from Detroit. Stewart is also the top rebounder at 5.2 boards per game.
The Chippewas surrendered 84 points on Tuesday to the Braves, and Bradley's Warren Jones scored a career-high 33 in the game.
"I think overall, our defensive concepts are a lot more solid than they were last year," Davis said. "We're a better defensive team and yet, we didn't need a player to have a career night to show we need to improve defensively. We already know that. We're an improved team, but we have a long way to go to become the type of team and program we want."
Davis again pointed to the fact that the Chippewas were playing on the road and in a hostile environment when they went to Bradley. The Chippewas finished the game below their season averages in both overall shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage. They also had two players foul out, including 6-foot-11 freshman center Luke Meyer.
It isn't the first time CMU will be subject to such factors and, in that respect, Tuesday's trip to Bradley was a good learning experience, Davis said.
"You're going to get their officials, you're going to be going on the road and you're not going to get calls and that's the way it is," said Davis, who is in his third year at CMU after four at Providence and one at Drake.
"I've been on both ends of that and you've got to be able to play through it and not let it affect the next play. And also to be able to figure out how not to put the call in the hands of an official, to be able to be more solid in what you do both offensively and defensively and not just say you got a bad whistle. Because that's going to happen."
Chris Fowler scored 24 points against Bradley after tossing in 26 - one shy of his career high - in CMU's 79-77 win over Grand Canyon three nights prior.
Fowler, a preseason All-MAC First Team pick, leads the Chippewas and is tied for fifth in the MAC at 15.3 points per game and leads the league with 7.2 assists per. CMU is leading the league at 80.7 points per game, and is allowing 63.2, fourth-best in the league and a vast improvement over last season when they allowed a MAC-worst 77.2.
The Chippewas are also getting a major contribution from junior forward John Simons, who is knocking down a sizzling 58.8 percent of his three-point attempts, which ranks sixth nationally.
The Chippewas are making 39.4 percent of their three-point tries.
