Central Michigan University
Miami (Oh)
Miami Puts The Brakes On Keene, CMU
2/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
OXFORD, Ohio - Marcus Keene was held to a career-low 12 points on Saturday as the Central Michigan men's basketball team fell to Miami (Ohio), 81-76, in a Mid-American Conference game at the RedHawks' Millett Hall.
The loss dropped CMU to 16-9, 6-6 MAC. The Chippewas are in a three-way tie for second place in the West Division behind Northern Illinois, which went into a Saturday night game against Western Michigan 6-5 in conference play.
Miami, which got 29 points from Logan McLane, is 10-15, 3-9.
Keene, the nation's leading scorer, poured in 50 points - the first player in NCAA Division I to reach that mark in four seasons - the last time CMU and Miami met, a 101-92 Chippewa victory at McGuirk Arena on Jan. 21.
Keene finished 5-of-17 from the floor including 2-of-10 from 3-point range on Saturday.
Braylon Rayson scored 24 points to lead the Chippewas, while David DiLeo added 15 and Josh Kozinski had 14. Kozinski and DiLeo went a combined 8-for-19 from 3-point range.
The Chippewas led for most of the second half, but Jake Wright scored on a layup with 2:58 to play to put Miami up, 71-70. The RedHawks' largest lead of the game was the final margin, and they led for just over 5 minutes of the 40-minute game.
The Chippewas outrebounded the RedHawks, 46-35, but Miami finished with a 48-18 advantage in points in the paint. CMU committed 22 turnovers to Miami's 11.
"We've talked about whether we were a tough enough team to win this year, to compete, and I think we've shown that we are," said CMU coach Keno Davis, whose team returns to McGuirk Arena for its next three games. "You have to be mentally tough, and I think the turnovers and not getting to the free throw line and relying on the 3-point shot, getting disrupted, is something that cost us tonight. Give Miami credit for that.
"It's frustrating, but it hasn't been our pattern. We've got make sure that when we get a taste of this it doesn't happen again."
