Wednesday, December 29
Kent, Ohio
4:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
2-10,1-0MAC
72
at
69
Kent State
5-6,0-1MAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
31
41
72
Kent St.
30
39
69
Photo by: Silas Walker
CMU Men Grind Out A Win In MAC Opener
12/29/2021 8:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Turns out, Tony Barbee was right. A tough nonconference schedule would eventually pay dividends.
Harrison Henderson scored 18 points on Wednesday as Barbee's Central Michigan men's basketball team held on to grind out a 72-69 victory over Kent State in its Mid-American Conference opener at the Golden Flashes' M.A.C. Center.
The Chippewas (2-10) appeared on Wednesday to have gained a measure of grit and toughness after a tough-as-nails nonleague slate that included the likes of Gonzaga, Kentucky, DePaul and Xavier. They took their lumps against some of the best teams in the nation, and also dropped a number of competitive games where a crunch-time play here and there made all the difference against the likes of Missouri, UIC and Detroit Mercy, among others.
"I'm proud of (my players) for persevering through the difficult times and the challenging schedule," said Barbee, who took over the program in April. "I apologized to the guys after this win tonight (because) I did them a disservice with the schedule I put together.
"But at the same time, I thanked them for staying the course and staying together the way they did. I know it was hard because when you don't get the results to back it up, sometimes you start questioning the coach, questioning yourself, questioning your teammates, and they stayed the course, stayed together, stayed coachable.
"I'm glad that they got the feeling of (a win) given all of the hard work that they've put in. They deserve it. It all came together today."
The Chippewas snapped an eight-game losing streak and won for the first time since Nov. 15, when they beat the buzzer for a 62-61 victory at Eastern Illinois. They also ended a four-game losing streak to the Golden Flashes and won for just the second time at Kent State since 1997.
Ralph Bissainthe added 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Brian Taylor hauled down a career-high 10 boards as the Chippewas emerged from a nip-and-tuck physical battle during which the teams combined to commit 51 fouls, attempt 64 free throws, and five players – two from CMU, three from Kent – fouled out.
CMU, which trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, seized a 31-30 lead on a Henderson dunk with under a minute to play in the first half.
The Chippewas never relinquished the lead in the final 20 minutes, but they never could shake the Golden Flashes (5-6), who five times drew within a point, the last at 70-69 with five seconds remaining.
"I used poise in every timeout the last 10 minutes of the game," Barbee said. "When winning time came today (we) were ready for it."
CMU got a critical 3-pointer from Jermaine Jackson Jr. with 21 seconds left that extended its lead to 68-64 and then Oscar Lopez Jr. made four free throws in the final 9 seconds to keep Kent State at bay.
The Chippewas made 20 of their 29 free throw attempts. Henderson, who entered the game shooting 54.5 percent from the line, made eight of his nine charity tosses.
Guard Sincere Carry, one of the league's top players, scored 22 points to lead Kent State, but he hit just two of his 13 3-point field goal tries and finished 5-of-19 (26 percent) overall from the floor.
The Chippewas held Kent State to 32.7 percent from the field and the Golden Flashes hit just six of their 34 3-pointers (17.6 percent). They entered the game shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from 3-point range.
"Offense will come and go, that's what I've been preaching," Barbee said. "You can't always count on your offense, even though you'd like to. But your defense and your toughness always travel.
"Our guys stayed tough; they kept defending through the offensive lulls, adversity, whatever the case may be. We executed in winning time, when it mattered, on both ends of the floor."
Harrison Henderson scored 18 points on Wednesday as Barbee's Central Michigan men's basketball team held on to grind out a 72-69 victory over Kent State in its Mid-American Conference opener at the Golden Flashes' M.A.C. Center.
The Chippewas (2-10) appeared on Wednesday to have gained a measure of grit and toughness after a tough-as-nails nonleague slate that included the likes of Gonzaga, Kentucky, DePaul and Xavier. They took their lumps against some of the best teams in the nation, and also dropped a number of competitive games where a crunch-time play here and there made all the difference against the likes of Missouri, UIC and Detroit Mercy, among others.
"I'm proud of (my players) for persevering through the difficult times and the challenging schedule," said Barbee, who took over the program in April. "I apologized to the guys after this win tonight (because) I did them a disservice with the schedule I put together.
"But at the same time, I thanked them for staying the course and staying together the way they did. I know it was hard because when you don't get the results to back it up, sometimes you start questioning the coach, questioning yourself, questioning your teammates, and they stayed the course, stayed together, stayed coachable.
"I'm glad that they got the feeling of (a win) given all of the hard work that they've put in. They deserve it. It all came together today."
The Chippewas snapped an eight-game losing streak and won for the first time since Nov. 15, when they beat the buzzer for a 62-61 victory at Eastern Illinois. They also ended a four-game losing streak to the Golden Flashes and won for just the second time at Kent State since 1997.
Ralph Bissainthe added 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Brian Taylor hauled down a career-high 10 boards as the Chippewas emerged from a nip-and-tuck physical battle during which the teams combined to commit 51 fouls, attempt 64 free throws, and five players – two from CMU, three from Kent – fouled out.
CMU, which trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, seized a 31-30 lead on a Henderson dunk with under a minute to play in the first half.
The Chippewas never relinquished the lead in the final 20 minutes, but they never could shake the Golden Flashes (5-6), who five times drew within a point, the last at 70-69 with five seconds remaining.
"I used poise in every timeout the last 10 minutes of the game," Barbee said. "When winning time came today (we) were ready for it."
CMU got a critical 3-pointer from Jermaine Jackson Jr. with 21 seconds left that extended its lead to 68-64 and then Oscar Lopez Jr. made four free throws in the final 9 seconds to keep Kent State at bay.
The Chippewas made 20 of their 29 free throw attempts. Henderson, who entered the game shooting 54.5 percent from the line, made eight of his nine charity tosses.
Guard Sincere Carry, one of the league's top players, scored 22 points to lead Kent State, but he hit just two of his 13 3-point field goal tries and finished 5-of-19 (26 percent) overall from the floor.
The Chippewas held Kent State to 32.7 percent from the field and the Golden Flashes hit just six of their 34 3-pointers (17.6 percent). They entered the game shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from 3-point range.
"Offense will come and go, that's what I've been preaching," Barbee said. "You can't always count on your offense, even though you'd like to. But your defense and your toughness always travel.
"Our guys stayed tough; they kept defending through the offensive lulls, adversity, whatever the case may be. We executed in winning time, when it mattered, on both ends of the floor."
Team Stats
CMU
KentSt
FG%
.400
.327
3FG%
.381
.176
FT%
.690
.771
RB
39
36
TO
17
13
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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