Thursday, December 21
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
5-6,0-0MAC
75
vs
63
Detroit Mercy
0-12,0-2Horizon
1
2
F
Detroit Mercy
31
32
63
Central Mich.
44
31
75
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Second Half Run Powers Men's Basketball to 75-63 Win Over Detroit Mercy
12/21/2023 10:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Chippewas win second straight game, Brian Taylor sparks 13-0 second half run, registers second straight double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Central Michigan responded to adversity with a key 13-0 second half run, senior Brian Taylor registered his second straight double-double with game-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Chippewas tied a season-high with 10 3-pointers in notching their second consecutive men's basketball win, 75-63, over Detroit Mercy Thursday evening at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas scored the game's first 12 points and seemingly had the game under control as they led by 13 points at halftime. But Detroit battled back, outscoring CMU 21-7 over the second half's first nine minutes and eventually took a 52-51 lead on two Ryan Hurst free throws with 11:35 to play.
But Central Michigan responded with its 13-0 run to reclaim the lead and regain control of the game. Taylor sparked the Chippewas by scoring the first seven points in the run, including a 3-pointer, fast break layup, and two free throws. Junior Anthony Pritchard followed with a layup off a Detroit turnover, junior Jemal Davis hit a 3-pointer, and Pritchard made a free throw. All of a sudden, CMU was back in control, 67-55, with 5:17 to play.
"I'm proud of the guys in how we handled the adversity tonight," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "It was maybe the first game this year where you have a big lead at halftime, but we should have been up 30 and the game is over. We left so many easy points on the floor. Then we missed all kinds of shots early in the second half that allowed them to get back in the game. But I like the way our guys responded, we didn't hang our heads, and we battled."
"This game before the holiday break is always a scary one," Barbee said. "I'm proud of our guys and how they handled this quick turnaround. We really focused in on these 30 hours to prepare for Detroit and we were ready to play tonight."
It was a team victory for Central Michigan, which shot 46.6 percent (27-58) from the floor and hit 10 of its 20 3-point attempts. After scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds vs. Davenport on Tuesday, Taylor followed that performance up with his second straight double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. It marked the second time Taylor had back-to-back double-doubles dating back to January 7-10, 2023 at both Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.
Junior Derrick Butler registered his fourth straight double figure scoring game with 15 points and eight rebounds, and junior Anthony Pritchard finished the night with 15 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds. Freshman center Hunter Harding also added a career-high nine points to aid the victory.
"I'm proud to see Brian have another double-double," Barbee said. "That's what we expect from him. Derrick Butler had another double figure scoring game, so did Anthony."
The Chippewas scored the game's first 12 points to take a 12-0 lead five minutes into the contest. Taylor started the rally with a dunk, Butler hit a 3-pointer, Vasko scored on a layup, Pritchard swished a 3-pointer, and Jemal Davis hit a layup to close the rally.
Detroit cut the lead down to as few as five points (19-14) with 8:55 to play in the first half, but the Chippewas fended the Titans off while shooting 50 percent (16-32) and eventually built a 13-point (44-31) halftime lead.
Early in the second half, Detroit used an 11-0 run to cut the lead down to six points (46-41) with 17:04 to play. After CMU's Aidan Rubio answered with a 3-pointer, the Titans went on another run, this time 7-0, to trim CMU's lead down to 49-48 on a 3-pointer by Hurst with 13:45 to go.
Detroit took its first lead of the game, 52-51, on the two Hurst free throws with 11:35 to go. CMU's Cayden Vasko answered with a 3-pointer at the top of the key to take the lead back 54-52, but Hurst gave Detroit a 55-54 advantage at 10:19 mark.
That's when CMU started its 13-0 run and Taylor took over. He hit a 3-pointer for CMU's 57-55 lead 10:02 to play, scored on a fast break layup, and added two free throws for a 61-55 lead with 8:01 to play.
"We went to the zone and that bogged them down a bit," Barbee said. "It slowed down the pace and it changed the game and made them more deliberate."
Detroit shot 31.7 percent (19-60) from the floor and just 16.7 percent (5-30) from 3-point range. The Titans were led by Hurst's 16 points and nine rebounds, Donovann Toatley scored 12 points and Jarmail Pink added 11.
The last time Central Michigan registered back-to-back home wins was from Jan. 3-14, 2023 when it defeated both Miami (OH) and Buffalo.
The win improved CMU to 5-6 overall, while Detroit Mercy dropped to 0-12 on the year. Central Michigan is off for a nine-day holiday break before it gets back to action at Loyola-Chicago on December 30. Tipoff for that game is at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.
The Chippewas scored the game's first 12 points and seemingly had the game under control as they led by 13 points at halftime. But Detroit battled back, outscoring CMU 21-7 over the second half's first nine minutes and eventually took a 52-51 lead on two Ryan Hurst free throws with 11:35 to play.
But Central Michigan responded with its 13-0 run to reclaim the lead and regain control of the game. Taylor sparked the Chippewas by scoring the first seven points in the run, including a 3-pointer, fast break layup, and two free throws. Junior Anthony Pritchard followed with a layup off a Detroit turnover, junior Jemal Davis hit a 3-pointer, and Pritchard made a free throw. All of a sudden, CMU was back in control, 67-55, with 5:17 to play.
"I'm proud of the guys in how we handled the adversity tonight," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "It was maybe the first game this year where you have a big lead at halftime, but we should have been up 30 and the game is over. We left so many easy points on the floor. Then we missed all kinds of shots early in the second half that allowed them to get back in the game. But I like the way our guys responded, we didn't hang our heads, and we battled."
"This game before the holiday break is always a scary one," Barbee said. "I'm proud of our guys and how they handled this quick turnaround. We really focused in on these 30 hours to prepare for Detroit and we were ready to play tonight."
It was a team victory for Central Michigan, which shot 46.6 percent (27-58) from the floor and hit 10 of its 20 3-point attempts. After scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds vs. Davenport on Tuesday, Taylor followed that performance up with his second straight double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. It marked the second time Taylor had back-to-back double-doubles dating back to January 7-10, 2023 at both Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.
Junior Derrick Butler registered his fourth straight double figure scoring game with 15 points and eight rebounds, and junior Anthony Pritchard finished the night with 15 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds. Freshman center Hunter Harding also added a career-high nine points to aid the victory.
"I'm proud to see Brian have another double-double," Barbee said. "That's what we expect from him. Derrick Butler had another double figure scoring game, so did Anthony."
The Chippewas scored the game's first 12 points to take a 12-0 lead five minutes into the contest. Taylor started the rally with a dunk, Butler hit a 3-pointer, Vasko scored on a layup, Pritchard swished a 3-pointer, and Jemal Davis hit a layup to close the rally.
Detroit cut the lead down to as few as five points (19-14) with 8:55 to play in the first half, but the Chippewas fended the Titans off while shooting 50 percent (16-32) and eventually built a 13-point (44-31) halftime lead.
Early in the second half, Detroit used an 11-0 run to cut the lead down to six points (46-41) with 17:04 to play. After CMU's Aidan Rubio answered with a 3-pointer, the Titans went on another run, this time 7-0, to trim CMU's lead down to 49-48 on a 3-pointer by Hurst with 13:45 to go.
Detroit took its first lead of the game, 52-51, on the two Hurst free throws with 11:35 to go. CMU's Cayden Vasko answered with a 3-pointer at the top of the key to take the lead back 54-52, but Hurst gave Detroit a 55-54 advantage at 10:19 mark.
That's when CMU started its 13-0 run and Taylor took over. He hit a 3-pointer for CMU's 57-55 lead 10:02 to play, scored on a fast break layup, and added two free throws for a 61-55 lead with 8:01 to play.
"We went to the zone and that bogged them down a bit," Barbee said. "It slowed down the pace and it changed the game and made them more deliberate."
Detroit shot 31.7 percent (19-60) from the floor and just 16.7 percent (5-30) from 3-point range. The Titans were led by Hurst's 16 points and nine rebounds, Donovann Toatley scored 12 points and Jarmail Pink added 11.
The last time Central Michigan registered back-to-back home wins was from Jan. 3-14, 2023 when it defeated both Miami (OH) and Buffalo.
The win improved CMU to 5-6 overall, while Detroit Mercy dropped to 0-12 on the year. Central Michigan is off for a nine-day holiday break before it gets back to action at Loyola-Chicago on December 30. Tipoff for that game is at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.
—CMU—
Team Stats
UDM
CMU
FG%
.317
.466
3FG%
.167
.500
FT%
.769
.733
RB
36
41
TO
12
15
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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