Chippewa Men Eye Win No. 2

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan men's basketball team looked dominant, at times, in winning its season opener on Tuesday.

The Chippewas will get another chance to show their early season stuff on Friday (7 p.m.) when they entertain Chicago State in a nonconference game at McGuirk Arena.

BIG SCORER
Junior Kevin McKay scored 27 points to lead the Chippewas in their 98-67 win over Concordia on Tuesday.

McKay was one of four Chippewas in double figures. Shawn Roundtree Jr. scored 18 points, Larry Austin Jr. had 17, and David DiLeo added 11 for CMU. Those four finished a combined 27-for-38 from the floor.

McKay's point total was the second highest of his career after the 33 he scored last season against Northern Illinois.

On Tuesday, he made 10 of his 13 field goal attempts while logging 26 minutes. He also had five rebounds, three steals and three assists against the Cardinals. . McKay said he spent a tremendous amount of time in the offseason in the gym.

"I worked a lot on getting into better shape so I'm able to play most of the game or all the game," McKay said. "My shooting, I worked on a lot jumpshots, free throws; I know I didn't take any jumpshots (against Concordia), but I worked on them a lot and I'm sure that's going to show as the season goes."

NICE DEBUTS
Austin was one of four players who figure to be in the Chippewas' rotation who made their CMU debut on Tuesday.

Austin, a graduate transfer from Vanderbilt, made eight of his 10 field goal attempts. He dunked for the first two points of the game just 16 seconds after the opening tip.

Rob Montgomery, a junior transfer playing his first game in a CMU uniform, shared the team lead with DiLeo with nine rebounds.

INSIDE JOB
The Chippewas scored 58 points in the paint, shot 55.4 percent from the floor, and got 18 points on the fastbreak.

"I'd love to be able to change the tempo defensively (with) fullcourt pressure where we're going to get steals and yet to still improve our drop-back defense," Davis said. "It allows us to create some tempo and to create some opportunities … It gives us an opportunity to maybe beat some teams we wouldn't have had that chance (to beat) in past years."

SCOUTING
Chicago State has had a rugged opening week. They lost at Indiana, 104-55, on Tuesday, and at Notre Dame, 89-62, on Thursday.

"It's probably not ideal for them, but they have a lot of experience, and after playing Indiana and Notre Dame they'll be well tested early in the season," Davis said. "With a new coach and new team they're going to come out and give us a great test early in the year."

The Cougars are led by senior guard Anthony Harris, who dropped a team-high 14 points against the Hoosiers. Lance Irvin is in his first year as the Cougars' head coach. He had previous stops as an assistant at Southern Illinois, Southern Methodist, Missouri, Texas A&M, Iowa State and Loyola Chicago.

NEXT
The Chippewas return to action Thursday, Nov. 15 to face Cal State Bakersfield at McGuirk Arena. Tickets are available at Ticket Central in McGuirk Arena, at CMUCHIPPEWAS.com, or at 888-347-3872.

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Players Mentioned

Larry Austin Jr.

David DiLeo

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Shawn Roundtree Jr.