Another Big-Time Statement Win for CMU Men

Friday, January 19

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

7 p.m.

Central Michigan University

9-9,4-2MAC

Toledo

11-7,5-1MAC

Toledo

Central Mich.

CMU junior Markus Harding celebrates with fans in the McGuirk Arena student section after the Chippewas' 65-62 victory over Toledo on Friday.

Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography

1/19/2024 11:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Chippewas knock off 3-time defending MAC champion Toledo, end Rockets' 20-game league win streak

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A missed Central Michigan shot caromed off Chippewa big man Markus Harding and bounced into the hands of Anthony Pritchard in the right corner behind the 3-point line, mere feet from the Chippewa bench.

Pritchard calmly drained the triple and gave a no-doubt-it-was-going-down look. It was the look that said, this is our night.

Pritchard's 3-pointer – his only triple of the night – came with just under three minutes remaining and increased the Chippewas' lead to nine points, 63-54, and proved to be the defining moment in a big 65-62 win over Toledo before a rocking 2,254 at McGuirk Arena on Friday.

It was the latest statement that the Chippewas are indeed a contender in the Mid-American Conference as they knocked off the three-time defending regular-season Rockets, ending their conference-record 20-game league win streak.

"Kind of puts our name on the radar that we can compete with the best in the league," said Pritchard, a junior point guard who scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out three assists while committing just three turnovers.

It was the fourth win in five games for CMU, which improved to 9-9, 4-2 MAC. The Rockets, who entered the game tied for first place, are 11-7, 5-1.

Included in that string of wins was a victory a week ago at home over Kent State.

"I respect the heck out of Toledo, I respect the heck out of Kent State," said third-year CMU coach Tony Barbee, who notched his first win in six tries over the Rockets. "Those teams and a couple others have been bellwethers in our league, they've set the standard and we're all chasing them."

The Chippewas entertain Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, Jan. 23, and then go to rival Western Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 27.

"The only thing those two wins say is we played better than (Toledo and Kent State) that night and that's all we're focused on is this moment, the moment of today and what happened now, and we'll worry about the bigger picture later," Barbee said. "When all things are said and done the only thing we want to do now is get lost in the moment, get lost in each other and the team, and that's what (our players have) done and they're not worried about ego and self and how I'm playing and how many shots I'm getting.

"We're not there. We're on our way, but we haven't arrived yet."

Brian Taylor finished with 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season for CMU, and 6-foot-10 Markus Harding had eight points and eight boards and made a major contribution on defense by clogging up the middle.

CMU outrebounded the Rockets, 37-31, and held Toledo to 33.9 percent shooting and 20 percent from 3-point territory. Toledo entered the contest as the MAC's top-scoring team at 79.1 points per game.

"It was an incredible effort," Barbee said. "The scouting-report discipline that my team showed tonight was incredible. Tonight we had very, very few breakdowns and that showed. Heck of an effort on the defensive end of the floor."

The Chippewas led for the vast majority of the game, but the lead was never more than nine points.

Toledo took a 42-39 advantage on a Ra-Heim Moss three-point play with 11:55 remaining, but CMU answered with a 12-3 run to go up eight, 53-45, with 7:47 left. Pritchard stepped up big-time during the spurt, scoring seven points.

"We just stayed together, we didn't separate," said Pritchard, who scored 16 points in the second half. "At times in the past, we separated whenever we faced adversity, but we stuck together. We all knew what the mission was. We stayed locked in.

"They were going to go on a run, they're a good team, and we just hit them back in the mouth and went on our run and took the lead back."

The Rockets refused to wilt -- not that anybody in maroon and gold expected them to -- and eventually trimmed its deficit to three points with under a second remaining. The Rockets' potential game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer missed.

Certainly, there is a long way to go. They haven't yet reached the midpoint of the league slate, and yet the Chippewas have clearly shown they aren't backing down from anybody.

"Through the ups and the downs, the ebb and flow of a season, the challenging nonconference schedule, this team never gave up on each other, never gave up on me and what we're trying to build here," Barbee said. "This team embodies it."

Clearly, fans are taking note. Friday's McGuirk Arena crowd was the largest of the season, and it made a difference, a grateful Pritchard said.

"The environment, that's a big impact," he said. "The fans probably don't understand how impactful it is when they show up to the games … It's extra motivation because we want to win for the people that come support us. Seeing them out here, showing us love, that' s a lot of motivation."