Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU Men Look to Gain Momentum From Ohio Win
1/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2016
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (10-9, 3-3 MAC) vs. MIAMI (OHIO) (6-13, 0-6 MAC)
Tuesday, January 26 • 7:00 p.m. • Millett Hall
Game Notes: Central Michigan | Miami
Watch: ESPN3/ASN
Live Stats:
Twitter: @CMUMensBball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - It isn't as much fun to talk about, it doesn't get you on SportsCenter.
But it does keep you in every game and it will often carry a team. And for all the talk about 3-pointers and points per game, the Central Michigan men's basketball team showed some defensive chutzpah Saturday in beating high-scoring Ohio, 72-49, in a Mid-American Conference game at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas 10-9, 3-3 MAC play at Miami (Ohio) 7 p.m. Tuesday in a MAC game. The RedHawks are 6-13, 0-6, and have lost nine straight games after a 7-4 start.
The 49 points scored by the Bobcats on Saturday was significant. It was the second-lowest point total scored by a MAC team this season, it was far and away the lowest total the Chippewas have allowed (and Ohio has scored) this season, and it was more than 30 points below the Bobcats' average.
The Chippewas made just five of their 20 field goal attempts against Ohio, the same number of makes and attempts they had 10 days earlier in a 91-82 win over Akron.
"To be able to do that is a sign of big things to come," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Our defense and rebounding continues to improve and we'll go back to the practice court to see if we can get better and get a road win on Tuesday."
The victory over Ohio snapped a two-game losing streak and it came as a relief, Davis said in his post-game press conference.
"I think that's probably a pretty good term," he said. "You should get your home games. I think we know the difference, that these games in the conference are almost all coin-flip games. ... We can't have anything less than our best effort to be able to win these games, home or on the road."
After Miami, the Chippewas' next two games are at home: Bowling Green on Saturday, and Kent State on Tuesday, Feb. 2. At that point, CMU will be at the mid-way point of its MAC schedule.
Holding serve at home and opportunistically claiming road wins is the key, said Davis, who led the Chippewas to a 12-6 regular-season league record a season ago and their first conference championship in more than a decade.
"We had five road loses (last season), so we were 4-5, I believe it was, on the road," he said. "Yeah, you need to be able to get some road wins to win the conference.
"Yes there's an understanding, to win games on the road will give you a chance to be a better seed, but we're not going to lack confidence if we end up on the short end of things for one game or a series of games."
The Chippewas got 14 points apiece from Braylon Rayson and Luke Meyer and 11 - plus nine assists -- from Chris Fowler in the win over Ohio. Despite their relatively poor performance from 3-point range, the Chippewas finished at better than 50 percent from the floor overall in the game.
Miami is led by the guard duo of Eric Washington and Geovonie McKnight. They combine to average 27.8 points per game and are the only RedHawks who average in double figures.
Washington is the RedHawks' main 3-point threat. He has made 42.3 percent (30-of-71) of his triple tries this season.
Statistically, Miami ranks last in the 12-team MAC in scoring (63.9 points per game) and is fourth in points allowed (68.2). The RedHawks rank last in the league in scoring margin at minus-4.2 per game.
