Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Central Penn
Chippewas Roll to 10th Victory
1/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Different night, different opponent, different leader.
Same result.
Rayshawn Simmons scored 20 points and dished out 12 assists - both career-highs -- Friday as the Central Michigan men's basketball team rolled past outmanned Central Penn, 125-80, at McGuirk Arena in its final non-conference game of the season.
The win lifted the Chippewas to 10-1 for the first time since 1974-75. They open Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday at Toledo.
Simmons led seven CMU players who scored in double figures as the Chippewas came within two points of matching the school record of 127 points in a single game.
Simmons' 12 assists tied him for the fourth most in a game by a CMU player, and the Chippewas finished with a season-high 29 assists.
"I feel like our unselfishness is really a credit to how much of a close-knit group we are, honestly, on and off the court," said Simmons, a junior guard, whose previous career high, 15 points, came earlier this season in a win over Concordia. "We really are out there playing for each other and we just want to help each other out so much and if anybody ever needs anything we're always there for each other."
Braylon Rayson, Chris Fowler and Austin Stewart added 14 points apiece for the Chippewas, while Austin Keel and Josh Kozinski had 12 apiece, and John Simons had 10.
CMU made 56.5 percent of its field goal attempts including 42.1 percent of its three-point tries. Simmons became the sixth player to lead the Chippewas in scoring in a game this season.
"I think that the win tonight really kind of epitomized our team that we've been able to build to this point," coach Keno Davis said.
It was the fourth straight loss for Central Penn (8-6), which got 23 points from Andre Batte. The Knights never led, but hung in and were down just seven, 38-31, when Rayson hit a three-pointer with 7 minutes, 5 seconds left in the first half.
That triggered a 30-12 CMU run to close the half, giving the Chippewas a 68-43 bulge at the break. CMU's lead never dipped below 18 points the rest of the way and the Chippewas won going away.
"It was our last game going into the conference season so we wanted to come out and we wanted to play well, and I think we had a lot of guys who played well," Simons said. "It's a little bit of a confidence booster for everybody on our team. Hopefully heading into the conference season we can go to Toledo, who is a very good opponent, we can go in and get a nice road win to start the conference season off."
The Chippewas outrebounded the Knights, 56-37. Stewart grabbed nine boards to lead CMU, while Fowler finished with eight assists and three steals.
"It was a really good game for us in preparation for the MAC season," Davis said. "Central Penn came in here and really gave a great effort and they were able to exploit some things and as a coach I don't think you can ask for much more than that.
"You want to be able to get the victory and yet you want to be challenged and I thought we were for a good stretch of that game. And being able to send us off on a good note with a great record heading into the conference season."
A win at Toledo would lift CMU to 11-1 for the first time since 1969-70, when it started 14-1 under coach Ted Kjolhede. With 10 wins, the Chippewas have matched their victory total from last season. In 2012-13, Davis' first season at the helm, they won 11 games.
"That feels really good to come here and be a part of that, especially after the last two years," said Simmons, who transferred to CMU before last season. "Being a part of it when we really struggled, it just feels good to finally get some wins under our belt."
NOTEBOOK
• CMU equaled its win total of a year ago, claiming its 10th win of the 2014-15 season through just 11 games.
• CMU's five-game winning streak equals the longest of the Keno Davis era set earlier this season when the Chippewas started 5-0.
• CMU scored over 100 points for the fifth time under Keno Davis ... CMU fell two points shy of equaling the program single game high for points (127), which they tied a year ago versus Marygrove.
• CMU's 125 points were the most scored by a MAC team this season.
• CMU fell just four assists shy of tying the program record for team assists in a game (33).
• Rayshawn Simmons re-set his career high in scoring for the third time this season, recording a team-high 20 points.
• Simmons also established a new career single-game high in assists with 12, helping him to his first career double-double.
• Austin Stewart nearly recorded CMU's second double-double of the game, totaling 14 points and a team-high 9 rebounds.
• Seven Chippewas reached double figures in scoring while 14 of the 15 players that saw action scored at least 2 points.
• CMU reached double figures in 3-pointers made for the sixth time this season, knocking down a total of 16, led by four from Josh Kozinski.
• CMU had a season high 60 points in the paint.
