Wednesday, December 6
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
3-5,0-0MAC
71
vs
67
Valparaiso
4-5,0-2MVC
1
2
F
Valparaiso
22
45
67
Central Mich.
37
34
71
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Men's Basketball Surges to 71-67 Win Over Valparaiso
12/6/2023 10:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Derrick Butler sparked CMU with a career and game high 24 points; Chippewas build large lead then hold off visiting Valparaiso to claim third victory of the year.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Guard Derrick Butler scored a career and game high 24 points as Central Michigan built a sizeable lead and held off Valparaiso for a 71-67 men's basketball victory Wednesday evening at McGuirk Arena. The win helped Central Michigan improve to 3-5 overall, while Valparaiso fell to 4-5 on the young season.
With his 24 points, Butler registered the highest scoring game this year for CMU. He notched career-highs for field goals made (nine), field goal attempts (14), 3-point field goals made (four), 3-point field goal attempts (seven), and rebounds (six). Butler led four Chippewas in double figure scoring including Markus Harding, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, Brian Taylor, who had 12 points and five rebounds, and Anthony Pritchard, who finished with 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists. Harding returned to the lineup after missing last week's Ohio State game.
Central Michigan outrebounded Valparaiso 44-36 and grabbed a season-best 18 offensive rebounds. The Chippewas also outscored Valpo 34-22 in the paint and converted nine 3-pointers.
"I'm proud of the guys," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "With the tough stretch of games that we've had and the fact that we had some guys knicked up, they've been coming to practice with a great attitude, and it showed tonight for about seven-eighths of the game. We rebounded well tonight. We guarded well but we gave up too many second chance points, especially in that stretch where they made a run."
Butler sparked CMU in the first half as he scored 11 of his 24 points as the Chippewas finished off the half by outscoring Valpo 15-4. Central Michigan used a 9-0 run to take a 30-18 lead with 2:30 to play. Harding started the rally with a free throw then scored on a layup, Butler followed with two more free throws, grabbed an offensive rebound, and scored another layup, Pritchard hit a jumper for the 30-18 lead.
"I'm proud of Derrick for staying the course and having a breakthrough night," Barbee said. "I know his teammates were more excited for him than he was for himself. That's the Derrick Butler that we recruited. That's what he's capable of. A lot of this is new to him, the intensity, the speed of it, the coaching that he's getting. It's not a surprise to me or the staff or his teammates. So much of this is new to him. We've been working with him in practice, working with him on tape, then you still have to be who you are. He's capable of having that kind of night, our coaches know it, and our teammates know it."
Butler hit a 3-pointer and a Pritchard steal and Butler layup along with Taylor's layup at the buzzer gave CMU a 15-point (37-22) halftime lead. The last time CMU led by more than 15 points at halftime vs. Olivet en route to a 127-66 victory on Dec. 20, 2020.
Central Michigan led the entire game, scored the contest's first nine points, and then built a 12-2 lead after the game's first five minutes. Taylor finished off a layup, followed by back-to-back layups by Pritchard. Taylor made it 9-0 when he swished a 3-pointer and Vasko put the Chippewas up 12-2 on 3-pointer of his own.
The Chippewas expanded their lead to as many as 22 points (60-38) on a jumper by Butler with 10:51 to play. But Valparaiso slowly trimmed the lead down to three points (70-67) with nine seconds to play. Pritchard hit a free throw to keep Valpo at bay.
Valparaiso was led by Isaiah Stafford, who finished with 23 points (7-19 FG) and hit 3-9 3-pointers. Sherman Weatherspoon added 13 points off the bench.
Central Michigan returns to action when it travels to Omaha, Neb. to play No. 10/11 ranked Creighton on Saturday, Dec. 9. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT at CHI Health Center.
With his 24 points, Butler registered the highest scoring game this year for CMU. He notched career-highs for field goals made (nine), field goal attempts (14), 3-point field goals made (four), 3-point field goal attempts (seven), and rebounds (six). Butler led four Chippewas in double figure scoring including Markus Harding, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, Brian Taylor, who had 12 points and five rebounds, and Anthony Pritchard, who finished with 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists. Harding returned to the lineup after missing last week's Ohio State game.
Central Michigan outrebounded Valparaiso 44-36 and grabbed a season-best 18 offensive rebounds. The Chippewas also outscored Valpo 34-22 in the paint and converted nine 3-pointers.
"I'm proud of the guys," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "With the tough stretch of games that we've had and the fact that we had some guys knicked up, they've been coming to practice with a great attitude, and it showed tonight for about seven-eighths of the game. We rebounded well tonight. We guarded well but we gave up too many second chance points, especially in that stretch where they made a run."
Butler sparked CMU in the first half as he scored 11 of his 24 points as the Chippewas finished off the half by outscoring Valpo 15-4. Central Michigan used a 9-0 run to take a 30-18 lead with 2:30 to play. Harding started the rally with a free throw then scored on a layup, Butler followed with two more free throws, grabbed an offensive rebound, and scored another layup, Pritchard hit a jumper for the 30-18 lead.
"I'm proud of Derrick for staying the course and having a breakthrough night," Barbee said. "I know his teammates were more excited for him than he was for himself. That's the Derrick Butler that we recruited. That's what he's capable of. A lot of this is new to him, the intensity, the speed of it, the coaching that he's getting. It's not a surprise to me or the staff or his teammates. So much of this is new to him. We've been working with him in practice, working with him on tape, then you still have to be who you are. He's capable of having that kind of night, our coaches know it, and our teammates know it."
Butler hit a 3-pointer and a Pritchard steal and Butler layup along with Taylor's layup at the buzzer gave CMU a 15-point (37-22) halftime lead. The last time CMU led by more than 15 points at halftime vs. Olivet en route to a 127-66 victory on Dec. 20, 2020.
Central Michigan led the entire game, scored the contest's first nine points, and then built a 12-2 lead after the game's first five minutes. Taylor finished off a layup, followed by back-to-back layups by Pritchard. Taylor made it 9-0 when he swished a 3-pointer and Vasko put the Chippewas up 12-2 on 3-pointer of his own.
The Chippewas expanded their lead to as many as 22 points (60-38) on a jumper by Butler with 10:51 to play. But Valparaiso slowly trimmed the lead down to three points (70-67) with nine seconds to play. Pritchard hit a free throw to keep Valpo at bay.
Valparaiso was led by Isaiah Stafford, who finished with 23 points (7-19 FG) and hit 3-9 3-pointers. Sherman Weatherspoon added 13 points off the bench.
Central Michigan returns to action when it travels to Omaha, Neb. to play No. 10/11 ranked Creighton on Saturday, Dec. 9. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT at CHI Health Center.
—CMU—
Team Stats
VALPO
CMU
FG%
.393
.422
3FG%
.375
.429
FT%
.833
.471
RB
36
44
TO
14
14
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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