Friday, March 6
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
14-17,7-11MAC
85
vs
68
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Western Michigan
13-18,6-12MAC
1
2
F
Western Mich.
29
39
68
Central Mich.
33
52
85
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Seniors Moment
3/6/2020 10:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Chippewas win regular-season finale, gear up for MAC Tournament
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – One streak is over, another continues.
The Central Michigan men's basketball team snapped a nine-game losing streak on Friday, topping rival Western Michigan, 85-68, in the regular-season finale on Senior Night at McGuirk Arena.
It was CMU's sixth-consecutive win over Western.
The Chippewas are 14-17, 7-11 MAC and will play at Ohio on Monday in a first-round MAC Tournament game. Tipoff time is to be determined. CMU is the ninth seed in the tournament; Ohio is eighth.
The winner heads to Cleveland for a quarterfinal game against top-seeded Akron on Thursday, March 12.
CMU fell to Ohio 77-69 in Athens on Feb. 18.
How It Happened
The Chippewas went on a 14-0 run, which began and ended with senior David DiLeo 3-pointers. Dallas Morgan also hit two triples in the surge, after which CMU led by 19, 65-46, with under 11 minutes to play.
Western Michigan crept within 12, 71-59, with under seven minutes to play, but CMU slammed the door with a 9-2 spurt, re-upping its lead to 19, 80-61.
"I feel like we have so many shooters on our team," Morgan said. "Once a guy gets going, that gets everyone else in rhythm. I know once I saw Dave's (first) shot go in, the crowd, and the energy put me in the rhythm right away. A couple of possessions later, I hit a shot, and it just trickled down.
"I feel like once one person gets going, it's like a domino effect. I feel like everybody feeds off that type of energy."
Team Stats
After making just two of their 10 3-point attempts in the first half, the Chippewas caught fire from long range in the final 20 minutes, making nine of their 16.
CMU, which outscored the Broncos 52-39 in the second half, held Western to four triples on 14 attempts.
The Chippewas totaled 17 assists, tied for their fourth highest of the season and the most they have collected in a MAC game this season.
Leaders
Morgan led CMU with 20 points, while DiLeo and Rob Montgomery added 16 each. All three are seniors who were playing their final game at McGuirk.
DiLeo led CMU in rebounds with eight. Deschon Winston led CMU in assists and tied a career high with six.
Senior Night
CMU honored its seven seniors: Corey Redman, Montgomery, DiLeo, Matty Smith, Kevin McKay, Michael Kemp and Morgan.
The senior class is not only large in numbers, but quite unique from player to player. There are players like DiLeo and McKay, who have been key contributors for the Chippewas in all four of their seasons; and there are players like Montgomery and Morgan who excelled in maroon and gold after transferring from junior college; and there are the likes of Kemp, who joined the team as a walk-on after serving a team manager.
"It's just kind of crazy," DiLeo said. "You just have a moment of taking it all in, (and) thinking back where all of our basketball careers began. We obviously all came together (tonight). It's just kind of crazy to take it all in and think this is the last time we get to take the court as teammates and brothers at McGuirk.
"But once the ball got tipped, we all just focused on basketball and it was just a normal game from then on."
For Keno Davis, who is in his eighth season as the Chippewas' coach, the class is special.
"It is a unique group," he said. "We were looking to have different elements to our team on the court and off the court, to bring some different personalities. … I think the thing I'm really proud of is the character of this team and the individuals are really high. They're continuing to learn (and develop) on the court and off the court. They have great attitudes, personalities, and they're willing to try to learn and to get better."
The Central Michigan men's basketball team snapped a nine-game losing streak on Friday, topping rival Western Michigan, 85-68, in the regular-season finale on Senior Night at McGuirk Arena.
It was CMU's sixth-consecutive win over Western.
The Chippewas are 14-17, 7-11 MAC and will play at Ohio on Monday in a first-round MAC Tournament game. Tipoff time is to be determined. CMU is the ninth seed in the tournament; Ohio is eighth.
The winner heads to Cleveland for a quarterfinal game against top-seeded Akron on Thursday, March 12.
CMU fell to Ohio 77-69 in Athens on Feb. 18.
How It Happened
The Chippewas went on a 14-0 run, which began and ended with senior David DiLeo 3-pointers. Dallas Morgan also hit two triples in the surge, after which CMU led by 19, 65-46, with under 11 minutes to play.
Western Michigan crept within 12, 71-59, with under seven minutes to play, but CMU slammed the door with a 9-2 spurt, re-upping its lead to 19, 80-61.
"I feel like we have so many shooters on our team," Morgan said. "Once a guy gets going, that gets everyone else in rhythm. I know once I saw Dave's (first) shot go in, the crowd, and the energy put me in the rhythm right away. A couple of possessions later, I hit a shot, and it just trickled down.
"I feel like once one person gets going, it's like a domino effect. I feel like everybody feeds off that type of energy."
Team Stats
After making just two of their 10 3-point attempts in the first half, the Chippewas caught fire from long range in the final 20 minutes, making nine of their 16.
CMU, which outscored the Broncos 52-39 in the second half, held Western to four triples on 14 attempts.
The Chippewas totaled 17 assists, tied for their fourth highest of the season and the most they have collected in a MAC game this season.
Leaders
Morgan led CMU with 20 points, while DiLeo and Rob Montgomery added 16 each. All three are seniors who were playing their final game at McGuirk.
DiLeo led CMU in rebounds with eight. Deschon Winston led CMU in assists and tied a career high with six.
Senior Night
CMU honored its seven seniors: Corey Redman, Montgomery, DiLeo, Matty Smith, Kevin McKay, Michael Kemp and Morgan.
The senior class is not only large in numbers, but quite unique from player to player. There are players like DiLeo and McKay, who have been key contributors for the Chippewas in all four of their seasons; and there are players like Montgomery and Morgan who excelled in maroon and gold after transferring from junior college; and there are the likes of Kemp, who joined the team as a walk-on after serving a team manager.
"It's just kind of crazy," DiLeo said. "You just have a moment of taking it all in, (and) thinking back where all of our basketball careers began. We obviously all came together (tonight). It's just kind of crazy to take it all in and think this is the last time we get to take the court as teammates and brothers at McGuirk.
"But once the ball got tipped, we all just focused on basketball and it was just a normal game from then on."
For Keno Davis, who is in his eighth season as the Chippewas' coach, the class is special.
"It is a unique group," he said. "We were looking to have different elements to our team on the court and off the court, to bring some different personalities. … I think the thing I'm really proud of is the character of this team and the individuals are really high. They're continuing to learn (and develop) on the court and off the court. They have great attitudes, personalities, and they're willing to try to learn and to get better."
Team Stats
WMU
CMU
FG%
.433
.456
3FG%
.286
.423
FT%
.600
.750
RB
38
39
TO
17
12
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballMBB Sign Video
Wednesday, July 23
MBB Insider - 6.13.25
Friday, June 13
Men's Basketball Summer Practice 1
Thursday, June 12
Men's Basketball Move-In Day
Friday, June 06