Central Michigan University
Toledo
Chippewas Start Slow, Never Recover At Toledo
2/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
TOLEDO, Ohio - Central Michigan fell into a double-digit deficit less than five minutes after the opening tip and never recovered on Friday in falling to Toledo, 87-66, at the Rockets' Savage Arena.
The loss, CMU's fifth straight, dropped the Chippewas to 16-13, 6-10 Mid-American Conference. Toledo snapped a six-game losing streak to CMU in improving to 15-14, 8-8.
CMU guard Marcus Keene, the nation's leading scorer, finished with 27 points, all of which came in the second half. He spent the majority of the first half on the bench with three fouls.
The Chippewas trailed, 40-20, at halftime, and then managed to get their deficit down to 12, 56-44, on a Josh Kozinski 3-pointer with 12:37 to play, but they never seriously threatened.
"I felt like we came out in the second half and had the energy that we needed and cut into the lead and kept cutting into it, but that's tough to cut into 20 on the road," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Especially a team with so much experience and so many talented players as they have. Just wasn't enough."
Cecil Williams added 13 points and Braylon Rayson had 11 for the Chippewas.
Jonathan Williams scored 22 points to lead five Rockets who scored in double figures.
The Chippewas committed 15 turnovers, their third-highest total of the season, and were outrebounded 43-29. Toledo scored 22 points off of CMU turnovers and had 12 second-chance points to CMU's two.
"They had 22 points off our turnovers and they had 12 points off second-chance rebounds," Davis said. "That's 34 points. Conversely we got 11. That's the game right there. That's what we lose by."
Keene, who entered the game averaging 29.8 points per game, upped his season point total to 858, which ranks second all-time in MAC history behind David Jamerson, who scored 874 for Ohio in 1989-90.
The Chippewas have totaled 2,559 points this season, the best in program history. The 2002-03 Chippewas, led by Chris Kaman, totaled the previous high, 2,553.
The Chippewas return to McGuirk Arena for their regular-season home finale on Tuesday against Eastern Michigan, then close the regular season on Friday, March 3, at Western Michigan.
"Sure it would be nice to win the last couple games going into the (MAC) tournament, but I think more important is that we we've got to get back to playing like we had played," Davis said.
The Chippewas lost their previous game, 89-66, at home to Northern Illinois. That contest was similar to Friday's at Toledo in that CMU fell into an early deficit and never mounted a serious charge.
"For the full 40 minutes against Northern Illinois and the first half here we didn't resemble anything near what we were," Davis said. "We're going to have to get back to playing the way we're capable of to be able to make a run.
"Just because you've had a tough stretch doesn't mean the season's over, it just means you've got to regroup and refocus on what you do."
