Central Michigan University
16-12, 5-10MAC
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Western Michigan
16-12, 8-7MAC
Chippewas Drop OT Heartbreaker
2/20/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - It was typical Central-Western: Emotional, hotly contested, down to the wire.
Thomas Wilder scored 11 of his 22 points in overtime on Tuesday as Western Michigan held off Central Michigan, 83-81, in a Mid-American Conference men's basketball game at the Broncos' University Arena.
The Chippewas, who lost for the ninth consecutive time in Kalamazoo, slipped to 16-12, 5-10 MAC. The Broncos are 16-12, 8-7.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was tied 69-all at the end of regulation and the extra session featured seven lead changes, the last on a Wilder and-one with 14 seconds to play. That put the Broncos in front for good, 83-81.
CMU's Kevin McKay drove hard down the right side of the lane as the clock wound down and his heavily contested shot missed. Josh Kozinski's desperation follow also missed.
The Chippewas seized a 5-0 lead to start the game. Western went ahead just over five minutes into the game. CMU never led in regulation after that, and tied it 69-69 on two McKay free throws with 5 seconds left.
THE LEADERS
Shawn Roundtree Jr. and McKay scored 18 points apiece for the Chippewas, while David DiLeo had 17 and Cecil Williams added 10. McKay also had 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double and his third in the last four games.
KEY STATS
Both teams made 41 percent of their field goal attempts and 27 percent of their 3-point tries. Western outrebounded the Chippewas, 44-39.
NEXT
The Chippewas go to Toledo on Friday (6:30 p.m.) for a MAC game. The MAC West-leading Rockets are 19-9, 11-4 after an 85-79 loss at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday.
COACH Keno Davis
"Our guys played extremely hard. Disappointing to not be able to get the win. I think you look in that overtime and they got five free throws and we got one. We kept taking it right to the rim, fell down, knocked down, couldn't make the play. That's what it comes down to, being able to get one more rebound, one more call, or one more bucket."
"Disappointed for our guys because I felt like we deserved that right at the end. We played extremely hard tonight. We've got to come back, get a little bit better -- because Toledo's an awfully good ball club -- and see if we can't get going in the right direction."
"I like the way our guys are learning, I like the way our guys are competing. We've talked about that we're one play away from being in a lot different position this year, but that gets old to talk about that. Eventually you've got to make one more play. Our guys, I love coaching with them, I love working with them, and I like the fact that we've got three more games left before the conference tournament starts."
