Central Michigan University
12-5, 1-3MAC
Toledo
11-6, 3-1MAC
CMU Men Fall At Home To Toledo
1/13/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - It was a long road back for the Central Michigan men's basketball team.
In the end, the Chippewas didn't have quite enough to complete the journey.
Toledo raced to a 15-point lead less than five minutes after the opening tip and then kept the Chippewas at arm's length the rest of the way on Saturday as the Rockets handed CMU a 93-82 Mid-American Conference loss before 2,819 at McGuirk Arena.
It was CMU's third consecutive loss, dropping it to 12-5, 1-3 MAC. The Chippewas go to Ball State on Tuesday and then to Bowling Green on Saturday, Jan. 20. The first two losses in their current skid came on the road.
"With the schedule of four of our first six on the road we knew that it was going to be a tough stretch," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Yeah we'd like to get as many wins as we can as we go along this season, but more importantly we need to get better as a team. These first six games are really going to test us to be able to stay together, to be able to get better, and to be able to continue to focus on the long-term goals for the season."
Shawn Roundtree Jr. scored a career-high 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting to lead the Chippewas, who watched Toledo hit five 3-pointers in racing to a 19-4 lead less than five minutes into the game.
The Chippewas climbed back in it and twice cut their deficit to one point early in the second half, but they could never manage to tie it or seize the lead.
They were within five, 83-78, with just over a minute remaining when Nate Navigato drilled a 3-pointer - his fifth of the game on eight attempts - with 1:06 to play to re-up the deficit to eight.
Tre'Shaun Fletcher scored 22 points, Jaelan Sanford had 21 and Novigato finished with 18 to lead the Rockets (11-6, 3-1), who tied their season high with 14 triples and made 43.8 percent of its 3-point tries.
"Credit to Toledo," Roundtree said. "They shot the ball really well. However, I think it came down to miscommunication. A lot of their shots were in transition, and we didn't communicate to get out on the shooters who we knew were going to shoot the ball. That falls back on us."
Cecil Williams and Kevin McKay added 14 points apiece for the Chippewas, and David DiLeo had 10. McKay led the Chippewas with seven rebounds.
Toledo's 93 points was a season high for a Chippewa opponent. The Chippewas entered the game surrendering a MAC-best 66.5 points per game.
"The steps that we've made (defensively) from last year, they're impressive," Davis said. "Maybe it did not show in tonight's game, but overall, where we are as a team defensively we have made strides. But there are strides to go.
"We've never talked about us being a finished product defensively, only that we're an improved team. I think tonight you saw some weaknesses that we have to address and get better from. But if I know anything about this team they're going to come back to the practice court and they're not going to feel sorry for themselves. They're going to work, they're going to continue to get better and stay together as a team."
