Saturday, February 22
DeKalb, Ill.
4:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
13-13,6-7MAC
81
at
82
Northern Illinois
16-11,9-5MAC
1
2
OT 1
F
Central Mich.
27
45
9
81
Northern Ill.
32
40
10
82
David DiLeo scored 25 points on Saturday in CMU's overtime loss at Northern Illinois.
Photo by: Jordan Menard
Chippewa Men Drop OT Heartbreaker
2/22/2020 7:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DeKALB, Ill. – Another nail-biter, another heartbreaker.
Northern Illinois hit three free throws in the final 32 seconds on Saturday to hand Central Michigan an 82-81 overtime loss in a Mid-American Conference men's basketball game at the Huskies' Convocation Center.
It was CMU's fifth-consecutive loss, dropping it to 13-13, 6-7 MAC. NIU is 16-11 and leads the MAC West at 9-5. The Chippewas are third in the West, 2 ½ games behind the Huskies.
"Really proud of our guys," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "I thought we played hard enough to be able to give ourselves a chance to win. Some of the calls went against us at the end; you have to be able to play through that on the road. You have to understand that's part of college basketball.
"Disappointing, but still very proud of this group."
How It Happened
Eugene German made a free throw with 32 seconds remaining to put the Huskies up, 80-79. CMU committed a turnover on its next possession and then Trendon Hankerson hit two charity tosses with 10 seconds left to make it 82-79.
The Chippewas inbounded the ball with 4 seconds remaining, and David DiLeo's potential game-tying 3-pointer missed. Kevin McKay put back the rebound for the final margin as time expired.
Coming Back
CMU trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, and then used a 14-2 run to seize a 67-63 lead with under 2:30 to play. The Chippewas led 72-68 when German scored on back-to-back layups, the second with 21 seconds remaining, to tie it 72-72.
The Chippewas had three shots as the clock wound down in regulation but could not get one to fall.
The Chippewas employed a full-court press to increase the tempo of the game and generate some offense in the second half.
"I think it changed the dynamic of the game and all of a sudden we got some open opportunities, we got to the basket," Davis said. "It's what we need to do going forward; we need to play more of a full-court game than a half-court game.
"It's kind of the way we're built, and we have to make sure we don't let other teams dictate the tempo. Northern Illinois does that just about as well as anybody. They'll slow it down to a crawl and can disrupt you with their physicality."
Leaders
DiLeo scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead CMU, while Devontae Lane had 14 points, and Rob Montgomery finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
It was Montgomery's second-consecutive double-double, his third of the season and the fourth of his career.
German scored 23 points to lead NIU.
Next
CMU will return to McGuirk Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 25 (7 p.m.) to play host to Toledo. It is the first of three games next week for the Chippewas. On Thursday, they go to Miami (Ohio) and then on Saturday to Eastern Michigan.
Toledo is 13-14, 5-9 after a 68-59 win at Western Michigan 68-59 on Saturday.
Northern Illinois hit three free throws in the final 32 seconds on Saturday to hand Central Michigan an 82-81 overtime loss in a Mid-American Conference men's basketball game at the Huskies' Convocation Center.
It was CMU's fifth-consecutive loss, dropping it to 13-13, 6-7 MAC. NIU is 16-11 and leads the MAC West at 9-5. The Chippewas are third in the West, 2 ½ games behind the Huskies.
"Really proud of our guys," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "I thought we played hard enough to be able to give ourselves a chance to win. Some of the calls went against us at the end; you have to be able to play through that on the road. You have to understand that's part of college basketball.
"Disappointing, but still very proud of this group."
How It Happened
Eugene German made a free throw with 32 seconds remaining to put the Huskies up, 80-79. CMU committed a turnover on its next possession and then Trendon Hankerson hit two charity tosses with 10 seconds left to make it 82-79.
The Chippewas inbounded the ball with 4 seconds remaining, and David DiLeo's potential game-tying 3-pointer missed. Kevin McKay put back the rebound for the final margin as time expired.
Coming Back
CMU trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, and then used a 14-2 run to seize a 67-63 lead with under 2:30 to play. The Chippewas led 72-68 when German scored on back-to-back layups, the second with 21 seconds remaining, to tie it 72-72.
The Chippewas had three shots as the clock wound down in regulation but could not get one to fall.
The Chippewas employed a full-court press to increase the tempo of the game and generate some offense in the second half.
"I think it changed the dynamic of the game and all of a sudden we got some open opportunities, we got to the basket," Davis said. "It's what we need to do going forward; we need to play more of a full-court game than a half-court game.
"It's kind of the way we're built, and we have to make sure we don't let other teams dictate the tempo. Northern Illinois does that just about as well as anybody. They'll slow it down to a crawl and can disrupt you with their physicality."
Leaders
DiLeo scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead CMU, while Devontae Lane had 14 points, and Rob Montgomery finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
It was Montgomery's second-consecutive double-double, his third of the season and the fourth of his career.
German scored 23 points to lead NIU.
Next
CMU will return to McGuirk Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 25 (7 p.m.) to play host to Toledo. It is the first of three games next week for the Chippewas. On Thursday, they go to Miami (Ohio) and then on Saturday to Eastern Michigan.
Toledo is 13-14, 5-9 after a 68-59 win at Western Michigan 68-59 on Saturday.
Team Stats
CMU
NIU
FG%
.433
.439
3FG%
.238
.462
FT%
.818
.750
RB
37
43
TO
10
11
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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