Tuesday, January 23
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
10-9,5-2MAC
71
vs
55
Miami (OH)
9-10,3-4MAC
1
2
F
Miami (OH)
20
35
55
Central Mich.
38
33
71
CMU guard Anthony Pritchard finished with 18 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds on Tuesday in a 71-55 win over Miami (Ohio) at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Defense Delivers, Again, as Men's Basketball Captures 5th Win in Last 6 Games
1/23/2024 11:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Pritchard leads the way with superb performance as Chippewas stymie MAC's best 3-point shooting team
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Defense: It's not always pretty, it's not always glamorous.
But it always delivers.
The Central Michigan men's basketball team flexed its defensive muscle again on Tuesday, smothering a good-shooting Miami (Ohio) team in a 71-55 Mid-American Conference victory before 1,496 at McGuirk Arena.
"If you're watching that game, it looked like we had seven or eight guys on defense the entire game, every possession," said third-year CMU coach Tony Barbee after his team won for the fifth time in its last six starts. "We never stopped.
"I've talked about the identity I want my team to take on and it's all centered around the defensive end of the floor. And this team is embodying everything that I want my team to look like."
The Chippewas (10-9, 5-2 MAC) go to rival Western Michigan on Saturday (8-11, 5-2). CMU and Western are tied for third place in the 12-team league.
Miami (9-10, 3-4) entered Tuesday's game as the MAC's most efficient 3-point shooting team at 37.9 percent. The Chippewas held the RedHawks to 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from beyond the arc, including 1-of-9 in the first half.
The 55 points was a season low for a Chippewa opponent and a season low for Miami, which was averaging 75.2 points per game.
The Chippewas built a 49-29 lead with under 13 minutes to play. To that point, Miami was just 2 of 13 from long range.
Miami managed to cut its deficit to nine, 62-53, when Chippewa guard Anthony Pritchard drove the lane and dished to Markus Harding for an and-one dunk with 2:42 remaining.
That put the Chippewas back up 12, 65-53, and swung momentum, and the game, back in CMU's favor.
"The rim was calling my name," Harding said. "Felt great. To get that energy in the crowd, for sure it was over with, because (the crowd was) already hyped."
Pritchard turned in another sensational effort, finishing with a game-high 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Brian Taylor added 14 points and Harding finished with 11 for the Chippewas, who didn't shoot the ball particularly well themselves, but outrebounded the RedHawks, 42-30, and finished 18 of 24 from the free throw line.
Pritchard, a junior transfer from Tulsa, strengthened his case as one of the MAC's top point guards as he committed just one turnover while displaying the poise and chutzpah that Barbee, teammates, and CMU fans have come to expect.
"He's a dog, honestly," Harding said of Pritchard. "He does things other people do, but they're not doing everything that AP does. He's ready to play defense full court, he's ready to be active in the lanes, and then on offense he's looking around, finding who's open. He gets everybody's eyes on him, that's the big thing, nonstop. We get him going, it's hard to stop us.
"He's a great pickup that coach Barbee got. Without him, I don't know what we'd be right now."
The 6-foot-10, 255-pound Harding also delivered on defense against Miami's Anderson Mirambeaux, who is 6-8 with the bulk of an NFL offensive tackle, a look that belies his deft footwork and hands.
Mirambeaux finished with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting, but Harding – with a little help from his brother Hunter, a 7-foot freshman, and 6-9 KJ Oduor – made Mirambeaux work for everything he got.
"Markus is maturing, he's growing up," Barbee said. "Maybe (it was) not his best offensive game, maybe not his best rebounding game, but once again (he made) a huge impact."
Said Harding, who logged a hard-working 28 minutes in battling Mirambeaux: "It hurts. He's a good player, you've got to respect it. You double team him, attack him nonstop. It's just, give it your all. Sometimes with someone smaller, you give them a little shove, they don't want to play anymore.
"But someone like him, he's ready for that contact, he's actually embracing it. I'm just trying to fight him, make it as hard as possible for him to get the ball and when he gets the ball, just play my butt off."
The Chippewas have now equaled their win total of last season, and they've clearly established that they're a contender after recent wins over traditional league heavyweights Toledo and Kent State.
A 12-point home loss to Buffalo on Jan. 2 in the MAC opener appears to have been a turning point, or perhaps the much-sought-after bounce-up from a low point.
"Somewhere after that Buffalo game it clicked," Barbee said, "This group is buying into what our identity has to be and we've just got to keep getting better and better on the offensive end of the floor.
"At the end of the day, this team, (they) don't worry about minutes, don't worry about stats. (It's) worry about your role and concentrate on starring in your role, whatever that is. When you've got a team that will selflessly buy into that and the result is winning, everybody becomes a star. And that is what's happening with this team.
"This team stayed the course and when you've got good people, good things can happen."
But it always delivers.
The Central Michigan men's basketball team flexed its defensive muscle again on Tuesday, smothering a good-shooting Miami (Ohio) team in a 71-55 Mid-American Conference victory before 1,496 at McGuirk Arena.
"If you're watching that game, it looked like we had seven or eight guys on defense the entire game, every possession," said third-year CMU coach Tony Barbee after his team won for the fifth time in its last six starts. "We never stopped.
"I've talked about the identity I want my team to take on and it's all centered around the defensive end of the floor. And this team is embodying everything that I want my team to look like."
The Chippewas (10-9, 5-2 MAC) go to rival Western Michigan on Saturday (8-11, 5-2). CMU and Western are tied for third place in the 12-team league.
Miami (9-10, 3-4) entered Tuesday's game as the MAC's most efficient 3-point shooting team at 37.9 percent. The Chippewas held the RedHawks to 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from beyond the arc, including 1-of-9 in the first half.
The 55 points was a season low for a Chippewa opponent and a season low for Miami, which was averaging 75.2 points per game.
The Chippewas built a 49-29 lead with under 13 minutes to play. To that point, Miami was just 2 of 13 from long range.
Miami managed to cut its deficit to nine, 62-53, when Chippewa guard Anthony Pritchard drove the lane and dished to Markus Harding for an and-one dunk with 2:42 remaining.
That put the Chippewas back up 12, 65-53, and swung momentum, and the game, back in CMU's favor.
"The rim was calling my name," Harding said. "Felt great. To get that energy in the crowd, for sure it was over with, because (the crowd was) already hyped."
Pritchard turned in another sensational effort, finishing with a game-high 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Brian Taylor added 14 points and Harding finished with 11 for the Chippewas, who didn't shoot the ball particularly well themselves, but outrebounded the RedHawks, 42-30, and finished 18 of 24 from the free throw line.
Pritchard, a junior transfer from Tulsa, strengthened his case as one of the MAC's top point guards as he committed just one turnover while displaying the poise and chutzpah that Barbee, teammates, and CMU fans have come to expect.
"He's a dog, honestly," Harding said of Pritchard. "He does things other people do, but they're not doing everything that AP does. He's ready to play defense full court, he's ready to be active in the lanes, and then on offense he's looking around, finding who's open. He gets everybody's eyes on him, that's the big thing, nonstop. We get him going, it's hard to stop us.
"He's a great pickup that coach Barbee got. Without him, I don't know what we'd be right now."
The 6-foot-10, 255-pound Harding also delivered on defense against Miami's Anderson Mirambeaux, who is 6-8 with the bulk of an NFL offensive tackle, a look that belies his deft footwork and hands.
Mirambeaux finished with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting, but Harding – with a little help from his brother Hunter, a 7-foot freshman, and 6-9 KJ Oduor – made Mirambeaux work for everything he got.
"Markus is maturing, he's growing up," Barbee said. "Maybe (it was) not his best offensive game, maybe not his best rebounding game, but once again (he made) a huge impact."
Said Harding, who logged a hard-working 28 minutes in battling Mirambeaux: "It hurts. He's a good player, you've got to respect it. You double team him, attack him nonstop. It's just, give it your all. Sometimes with someone smaller, you give them a little shove, they don't want to play anymore.
"But someone like him, he's ready for that contact, he's actually embracing it. I'm just trying to fight him, make it as hard as possible for him to get the ball and when he gets the ball, just play my butt off."
The Chippewas have now equaled their win total of last season, and they've clearly established that they're a contender after recent wins over traditional league heavyweights Toledo and Kent State.
A 12-point home loss to Buffalo on Jan. 2 in the MAC opener appears to have been a turning point, or perhaps the much-sought-after bounce-up from a low point.
"Somewhere after that Buffalo game it clicked," Barbee said, "This group is buying into what our identity has to be and we've just got to keep getting better and better on the offensive end of the floor.
"At the end of the day, this team, (they) don't worry about minutes, don't worry about stats. (It's) worry about your role and concentrate on starring in your role, whatever that is. When you've got a team that will selflessly buy into that and the result is winning, everybody becomes a star. And that is what's happening with this team.
"This team stayed the course and when you've got good people, good things can happen."
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Team Stats
Miami
CMU
FG%
.382
.424
3FG%
.263
.176
FT%
.615
.750
RB
30
42
TO
8
6
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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