Central Michigan University
Chicago State
Team Effort: Chippewas Down Chicago State, 90-82
12/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon,CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - With leading scorer Marcus Keene bottled up, his teammates picked up the slack.
Josh Kozinski scored a career-high 20 points to lead five players in double figures Friday as Central Michigan wrestled away a 90-82 victory over Chicago State before 2,450 at McGuirk Arena.
It was the final nonconference game for the Chippewas (10-3), who open Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday at Eastern Michigan.
Keene, who entered the game leading the nation in scoring at 31.9 points per game, finished with 16 points on 5-of-21 shooting, including 2-of-10 from 3-point range. He dished out eight assists, his second-highest total of the season.
The 16 points was a season-low for Keene, who had scored at least 23 in CMU's previous 12 games and was coming off a career-best 44-point effort in the Chippewas' last game, a 106-103 win at Montana State nine days ago.
"You never know coming off a break," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Sometimes you see teams not as sharp as they normally would be after a few days off. But I think I would chalk it up to Chicago State disrupting us.
"All of our players have faith in the other guys on our team. We have guys who can step up into bigger roles if need be. Guys knocked down shots, guys came up with steals, guys came up with rebounds that hadn't normally been big rebounding guys."
Kozinski, a junior guard, hit six 3-pointers on 11 attempts and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Braylon Rayson added 18 points, Cecil Williams had 15, and freshman David DiLeo notched his second career double-double with 16 points and a team-high 11 boards.
Kozinski, Williams and DiLeo combined to make 17 of their 28 field goal attempts.
"We know as players, Marcus and Braylon are going to get the attention they got tonight, and we're prepared to step up and make some shots," Kozinski said.
Chicago State (4-12), which had lost seven of its previous eight starts, hung tough throughout, thanks in large part to its dogged defense on Keene and to a 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) effort from 3-point land. The Cougars entered the game having made 33 percent of their triple tries on the season.
Fred Sims Jr. scored 27 points to lead Chicago State, while Trayvon Palmer and Clemmye Owens added 17 apiece.
DiLeo, who finished 4-for-7 from 3-point range, hit back-to-back triples in a 40-second span with under five minutes remaining to finally put the Chippewas in front for good, 81-76.
A Rayson jumper with 3:16 left extended CMU's lead to seven, 83-76, and the Chippewas were able to hold off the Cougars down the stretch. Chicago State did not score in the final 2:11.
The game featured five ties and 13 lead changes.
"They went on runs and we found ourselves down and maybe that hasn't happened that much this year," DiLeo said. "I think it definitely helps us heading into conference play as we work on late-game situations -- who to get the ball to, to lock in and get a stop when we really need a stop, and grab a rebound and knock down free throws like we did."
