Central Michigan University
3-3
Cal Poly
4-1
Roundtree's 3 Lifts CMU Men Into 'Shootout' Title Game
11/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Shawn Roundtree hit a 3-pointer with under 4 seconds remaining as the Central Michigan men's basketball team grinded out a 56-53 victory over Cal Poly on Friday in a semifinal game in the Great Alaska Shootout at Alaska Airlines Center.
The Chippewas (4-1) will play Idaho or Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday (midnight EST) in the tournament title game.
Kevin McKay scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Chippewas, while Luke Meyer added a season-high 15 points and Roundtree had 10. Donovan Fields scored 20 points and Victor Joseph added 19 for Cal Poly (3-3).
The Chippewas made just four 3-pointers on the night, finished 35.8 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 41-32.
"That was something," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Really a gut-check performance by our guys. I don't know how good defensively we are yet, but what a difference a year makes in that we were able to win that game over 40 minutes solely with our defense.
"We didn't score well, we didn't execute real well, we didn't rebound real well, but we came up with enough defensive plays to be able to get the win."
The Chippewas made just one of their 10 3-point attempts in the first half, yet trailed by just three, 23-20, at the break. The three-point margin of victory matched CMU's largest lead of the night.
Roundtree came off a double screen at the top of the key and nailed the game-winning triple. The junior guard's dramatic bucket came seconds after Joseph hit a triple to tie it at 53.
The Chippewas entered the game averaging 86.7 points per game and had twice surpassed the 100-point mark this season.
"Cal Poly, they're so patient in everything they do, they frustrate you," Davis said. "A lot of our frustration came because of what they do and how they do it. (Our players) didn't get their heads down, they kept working on the defensive end."
