CMU Men Drop A Heartbreaker At Home

Saturday, February 6

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

2 p.m.

Central Michigan University

6-12,2-9MAC

Western Michigan

4-11,3-7MAC

Western Mich.

Central Mich.

Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw

2/6/2021 7:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A valiant effort by a short-handed team in a down-to-the-wire battle with its archrival.

Unfortunately, it didn't go Central Michigan's way.

Greg Lee hit a jumper with 4 seconds remaining on Saturday as Western Michigan handed Central Michigan a heartbreaking 67-65 Mid-American Conference men's basketball loss at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas, playing without starting point guard Devontae Lane, slipped to 6-12, 2-9 MAC. It was the second-straight road win for the Broncos, 4-11, 3-7.

"Really very proud of this group," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "We started (the season) with a roster of 15 guys (and) six of those guys were not able to play tonight. For us to step up and give ourselves an opportunity to win in the last minute, I was really proud, regardless of how the game turned out in the final seconds."

How It Happened
As is typical whenever the Chippewas and Broncos lock horns, it was a tight, physical battle with neither squad able to establish dominance, though Western led most of the way and crept out to its largest lead (10 points), 51-41, with under 11 minutes to play.

CMU answered with a 17-3 run to take a 58-54 advantage with just over four minutes left. Both teams held the lead late, and CMU's Travon Broadway Jr. hit two free throws with 24 seconds remaining to mark the game's seventh tie, 65-65.

Leaders
Broadway, a junior guard, scored a career-high 29 points, while Caleb Huffman added 11, and Malik Muhammad had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Chippewas.

Staying Hot
Broadway, who made 10 of his 15 field goal attempts, eclipsed his previous career high of 27 points which he set four games previous against Toledo. He has eclipsed the 20-point plateau five times in his last seven games and is averaging a team-best 17.9 points per game.

Filling In
Without Lane, CMU's floor general, Davis turned to Huffman and backup P.J. Mitchell to fill the void at the point. Mitchell logged 17 minutes, his third-highest total of the season, and Huffman was on the floor for a season-high 33 minutes.

"Devontae is so much a part of what we do in terms of running the offense and getting guys in the right position, both offensively and defensively," Davis said. "He doesn't get enough credit in that area. It was admirable of our guys to have that kind of intensity, for some of those guys to play those kinds of minutes and to battle back with a chance to win at the end."

Numbers
Western held a slight 33-30 rebounding edge, and the Chippewas made 51.1 percent of their field goal attempts, their best percentage from the floor in nine games. They hit 60.8 percent of their attempts in the second half, a big factor in their ability to overcome the 10-point deficit.

On the flip side, the Chippewas made just three of their 16 3-point tries.

Looking Ahead
The Chippewas are scheduled to entertain Ball State, 7-9, 5-6, on Tuesday, Feb. 9, and then are slated to host Buffalo, 8-6, 6-4 on Friday, Feb. 12 (8 p.m.).

"We see the progress. We're getting better," CMU junior Meikkel Murray said. "We've just got to know how to buckle down in those stretches where we can pull away. Turnovers and things like that can really mess up what we've got going on. Nine games left. We've got to get in the film room and see what we've got to do to improve."

Said Davis: "I like our guys, I have all year, I think we're a really talented group. Part of the reason I think that I like these guys so much is the effort that they give and the upside. When you look at a Travon Broadway and the steps he made from last year to this year, I see that in several of our guys that'll be returning. A Caleb Huffman, a Meikkel Murray, a Malik Muhammad. Those guys, if they can make half the strides that Travon was able to make, we'll have a really good foundation for a team next year.

"I continue to feel highly about this group; I know we're going to be successful; I just hope it's going to be sooner than to have to wait until next season."