Thursday, November 21
Minneapolis, Minn.
8 p.m.
Central Michigan University
4-1,0-0MAC
57
at
82
Minnesota
2-3,0-0Big Ten
1
2
F
Central Mich.
29
28
57
Minnesota
48
34
82
Senior Kevin McKay scored 16 points to lead CMU on Thursday at Minnesota.
Photo by: Craig Lassig
Gophers Hand CMU Men Their First Loss
11/21/2019 10:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MINNEAPLOIS -- The Central Michigan men's basketball team lost its first game of the season on Thursday, falling to Big Ten opponent Minnesota, 82-57, at the Gophers' Williams Arena.
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CMU is 4-1. Minnesota is 2-3.
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How It Happened
After a David DiLeo jumper pulled CMU to 23-20, Minnesota went on a 15-0 run to extend its lead to 38-20 with 4:30 to play in the first half.
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Minnesota began the second half with a 10-0 run to up its lead to 29, 58-29. CMU responded with a 12-0 spurt, sparked by a Romello Burrell 3-pointer, to draw to 17, 58-41, but would get no closer.
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The Chippewas packed their defense inside in an attempt to neutralize Minnesota's 6-foot-10 center Daniel Oturu. Oturu scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but the Gophers did their damage from the perimeter, making nine 3-pointers in the first half and finishing 14 for 30 from long range.
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"When you're playing a team like a Minnesota, a Power 5 team that's a second round NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, just because they've lost to a couple of Power 5 teams doesn't mean they're not as good as those teams," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Just trying to play a team equal and play the exact same way as they do is not the best recipe.
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"Even though there were some negatives out there, I think there were some big positives for us moving forward."
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Team Stats
CMU shot a season low 33.3 percent (22 for 66) from the floor, including five of 22 from 3-point range (22.7 percent).
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Leaders
Kevin McKay led CMU with 16 points on a 7-of-11 shooting effort. He also led the Chippewas with eight rebounds and four assists. Dallas Morgan added 10 points
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"There's one guy from the top of our list from yesterday's workout that really came with a lot of energy," Davis said of McKay, a senior guard "He's been there before so he knew that a team like Minnesota would come out and pressure the 3-point line. He was able to have really good shot selection, really good finishes around the rim, and was working really hard defensively. I'm really proud for what he was able to do tonight."
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Tale of Two Halves
Minnesota made 59.4 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half in building a 48-29 lead at the break. The Chippewas held the Gophers to 41.9 percent from the floor in the second half.
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"Those numbers in the second half defensively, they're good enough to win," Davis said. "Our offense wasn't good enough to win. We needed our defense for two halves, not one. I think that second half we saw some character out of this team on the defensive end."
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Next
CMU will return home on Saturday, Nov. 23 (2 p.m.) for a nonconference game against Trinity Christian (3-6).
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CMU is 4-1. Minnesota is 2-3.
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How It Happened
After a David DiLeo jumper pulled CMU to 23-20, Minnesota went on a 15-0 run to extend its lead to 38-20 with 4:30 to play in the first half.
Â
Minnesota began the second half with a 10-0 run to up its lead to 29, 58-29. CMU responded with a 12-0 spurt, sparked by a Romello Burrell 3-pointer, to draw to 17, 58-41, but would get no closer.
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The Chippewas packed their defense inside in an attempt to neutralize Minnesota's 6-foot-10 center Daniel Oturu. Oturu scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but the Gophers did their damage from the perimeter, making nine 3-pointers in the first half and finishing 14 for 30 from long range.
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"When you're playing a team like a Minnesota, a Power 5 team that's a second round NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, just because they've lost to a couple of Power 5 teams doesn't mean they're not as good as those teams," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Just trying to play a team equal and play the exact same way as they do is not the best recipe.
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"Even though there were some negatives out there, I think there were some big positives for us moving forward."
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Team Stats
CMU shot a season low 33.3 percent (22 for 66) from the floor, including five of 22 from 3-point range (22.7 percent).
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Leaders
Kevin McKay led CMU with 16 points on a 7-of-11 shooting effort. He also led the Chippewas with eight rebounds and four assists. Dallas Morgan added 10 points
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"There's one guy from the top of our list from yesterday's workout that really came with a lot of energy," Davis said of McKay, a senior guard "He's been there before so he knew that a team like Minnesota would come out and pressure the 3-point line. He was able to have really good shot selection, really good finishes around the rim, and was working really hard defensively. I'm really proud for what he was able to do tonight."
Â
Tale of Two Halves
Minnesota made 59.4 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half in building a 48-29 lead at the break. The Chippewas held the Gophers to 41.9 percent from the floor in the second half.
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"Those numbers in the second half defensively, they're good enough to win," Davis said. "Our offense wasn't good enough to win. We needed our defense for two halves, not one. I think that second half we saw some character out of this team on the defensive end."
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Next
CMU will return home on Saturday, Nov. 23 (2 p.m.) for a nonconference game against Trinity Christian (3-6).
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Team Stats
CMU
MINN
FG%
.333
.508
3FG%
.227
.467
FT%
.800
.571
RB
34
43
TO
13
16
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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