Men's Basketball Pulls Away From Siena, Will Play Stetson Tuesday at Noon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Central Michigan men's basketball rode the momentum it gathered from its win last week over South Florida into a second straight victory, as the Chippewas defeated Siena, 70-56, in the Sunshine Slam at Ocean Center.

The Chippewas maintained an efficient brand of basketball offensively throughout, making 48.1 percent (26-of-54) of their field goal attempts including a six-for-14 clip (42.9 percent) from 3-point range.

Junior guard Anthony Pritchard made a blistering eight of his 11 field goal tries en route to 18 points. Pritchard did a bit of everything, adding seven rebounds and nine assists -- both team-leading marks.

While Pritchard held consistent throughout the second half, it was graduate guard Brian Taylor who kept the Chippewas in control, scoring 13 of his 21 points in the second half.

Taylor hit a 3-pointer with 8:13 remaining to end a 13-0 Siena run and keep the Chippewas in front, 50-44, after the Saints had sliced a one-time CMU lead from 19 points down to three.

Taylor's bucket triggered a 10-2 run which restored CMU's lead to double digits, 57-46, with just over five minutes to play. Siena never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

"It was much needed from Brian," CMU coach Tony Barbee said. "I've got ultimate confidence in him and so do his teammates. His aggressiveness paid off for him today."

While Taylor and Pritchard came up big on the offensive end, CMU's team defense shined. The Chippewas forced 21 turnovers and collected 14 steals, both season highs, leading to 17 fastbreak points and 26 points off turnovers.

Meanwhile, CMU took good care of the ball with just 11 turnovers.

"Good effort from the guys, glad we got the dub and now it's on to tomorrow," Barbee said. "Just got to make sure we're more consistent over the course of 40 minutes."

The Chippewas punched their ticket into the Ocean Division Championship Game of the Sunshine Slam. They will face Stetson at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 21, to close out their Sunshine Slam slate. Stetson defeated Milwaukee 85-67 in the other game.

"It's going to be a quick turnaround, not much prep time," Barbee said. "But I'm glad we get the winner of (Monday night's) game so we'll be coming off more rest."

Men's Basketball Pulls Away From Siena, Will Play Stetson Tuesday at Noon

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Team Stats

Brian Taylor

Anthony Pritchard

Cayden Vasko

Markus Harding

Players Mentioned

Anthony Pritchard

Brian Taylor

Players Mentioned

Anthony Pritchard

Brian Taylor