Central Michigan University
Eastern Michigan
Central Michigan Cruises Past Eastern Michigan, 72-56
2/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Central Michigan started in a 2-0 hole before the opening tip because of a technical foul assessed to the Chippewas for dunking in warmups.
It was about the only thing that didn't go CMU's way on Tuesday night.
John Simons scored a season-high 23 points and Josh Kozinski added 18 as the Chippewas ran past Eastern Michigan, 72-56, in a Mid-American Conference men's basketball game at EMU's Convocation Center.
It was the Chippewas' sixth consecutive victory as they improved to 21-5, 11-4 in the MAC. They lead the West Division by one game over Toledo (18-9, 10-4), which was scheduled to play host to Northern Illinois on Tuesday, but was postponed to Wednesday because of water main break on the Toledo campus.
The Chippewas play at Northern Illinois (10-15, 4-10) on Saturday, then entertain the Rockets on Tuesday, March 3, at McGuirk Arena. Three nights later, CMU closes the regular season with a league game at Western Michigan.
"I think our guys have realized that they've exceeded expectations by so much that they don't feel that pressure anymore when they come to games," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Anything that we do the rest of the year is gravy on the season, and yet we want to accomplish that much more."
Simons and Kozinski, who entered the game ranked one and two, respectively, in the MAC in three-point field goal percentage, went a combined 13-for-23 from three-point territory as CMU made 16 triples (on 37 attempts) on the night, their season-high for a road game. Simons hit a career-high seven triples, while Kozinski equaled his career-best with six. His point total was one shy of his career-high.
"I think going on the road, this team has a comfort level of not getting as rattled as some previous teams that I've had," Davis said. "The crowd gets on them and it doesn't seem to bother them, the game's on the line with a couple of minutes left, you don't see guys nervous to take that shot or make that play. I think that's unique because it's just normal to be in those tight situations and feel pressure."
While it was a road game for CMU, it had a McGuirk Arena feel to it with a good number of Chippewa fans in attendance.
"It's nice, especially on a weekday, that some people made the trip," Davis said. "There was an awful lot of maroon in here tonight.
"Those fans at McGuirk, that's a great atmosphere, but to be able to follow your team on the road, the camaraderie that those fans share, that's important for us to continue to build upon as we go forward with the program."
Austin Stewart added 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Chippewas, while Rayshawn Simmons dished out 10 assists. Simons added seven boards.
The Chippewas outrebounded the Eagles, 35-28, and they won going away despite the fact that leading scorer Chris Fowler managed just three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Fowler finished with seven assists and just one turnover. CMU committed just nine turnovers.
"What we talked about the most coming into this game, along with transition defense, was rebounding," Davis said. "Not only to outrebound them by seven, but to get 14 offensive rebounds … I give our guys credit for great effort throughout 40 minutes tonight."
CMU missed its first eight three-point attempts, but made seven of its next 14 to overcome an early 8-2 deficit and seize a 33-28 halftime lead.
The lead was eight, 50-42, when Kozinski drilled a three-pointer with 11 minutes, 41 seconds to play, touching off a 19-6 surge that ended with a Simons triple with 6:11 left.
Simons and Kozinski combined to nail five triples in the spurt and when the dust settled, the Chippewas were up, 69-48, and well on their way to their first victory in the Convocation Center since February, 2012, and a sweep of the regular-season series with the Eagles (17-11, 6-9).
Mike Talley scored 16 points, Karrington Ward had 14, and Raven Lee added 10 for the Eagles.
