Tuesday, January 30
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
12-9,7-2MAC
84
vs
77
Northern Illinois
6-14,0-8MAC
1
2
OT 1
OT 2
F
NIU
36
27
9
5
77
Central Mich.
30
33
9
12
84
Paul McMillan IV (34) scored a career-high 21 points on Tuesday as Central Michigan outlasted Northern Illinois in double overtime at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Battered and Bruised, Chippewa Men Show Their Mettle in Double OT Win
1/30/2024 11:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CMU extends win streak to four games as McMillan steps up heroically
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Hottest team in the league hosting the last-place team.
Easy win and move on, right?
Not by a long shot.
Paul McMillan IV stepped up big-time for injured point guard Anthony Pritchard and Central Michigan outscored Northern Illinois, 12-5, in the second overtime on Tuesday as the Chippewas wrestled away an 84-77 Mid-American Conference men's basketball victory at McGuirk Arena.
"Give them credit," CMU coach Tony Barbee said of the Huskies. "I'm not over there, I don't know what's going on with their team, but they're way better than their record.
"We had adversity, and we showed the kind of championship mettle, we showed the kind of championship grit that it takes. And I say that, it doesn't mean we're cutting down nets, it just means you have the kind of character in you."
The win was CMU's fourth straight and its seventh in its last eight starts.
The Chippewas, picked to finish last in the preseason poll, improved to 12-9, 7-2 MAC, their best conference start since 2000-01. They are in third place, one game behind Akron and Toledo, which are both 8-1 MAC.
CMU goes to Bowling Green on Saturday (5 p.m.). The Falcons (15-6) are in fourth place, one game behind CMU at 6-3 league.
McMillan, a sophomore transfer who has been a key reserve all season, took over at point guard for star Anthony Pritchard when Pritchard left the game with an injury with 3:07 remaining in regulation and the Chippewas clinging to a 58-55 lead.
At that point, McMillan had seven points. He scored 14 of his career-high 21 points after that, going a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line in the extra sessions while leading the Chippewas from the point guard spot.
"With (Pritchard) going down, my teammates and coaches were just telling me, you've got this, head up the team, keep us under control, and just finish the game out," said McMillan IV, who committed just one turnover while playing 34 minutes. "My coaches and teammates trust me in that position. They've seen me do it in practice many times and tonight my number was called and I had to step in, make sure we closed it out."
"Paul's a confident kid," Barbee said, "and we have confidence in him. He's been a spark for us off the bench (this season). When we sub him in, we don't lose anything defensive intensity wise; he's got big heart, big fight. And then he was filling some pretty big shoes. Paul stepped in and didn't miss a beat. He ran our team flawlessly from the point, got us in our offense, didn't panic against their press."
Markus Harding finished with 18 points and nine rebounds and Brian Taylor had 13 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and the ninth of his career.
Harding also left the game late with an apparent injury and even McMillan himself briefly sat down in the second overtime with what he said was a tweaked hamstring.
"We could have easily let go of the rope, but it shows the kind of character that we have that we never did – regardless of who was left (on the floor) – they believed, and they believed in each other," Barbee said.
Xavier Amos scored 25 points to lead NIU (6-14, 0-8), which played nothing like the MAC's only winless team in seizing the early lead and keeping the Chippewas off balance for much of the night.
CMU trailed by as many as 11 points and didn't take its first lead until Pritchard, who scored 16 points, hit a pair of free throws for a 56-55 advantage with 4:10 to play in regulation.
"They were playing hard, they wanted it more than we did," Taylor said of NIU's ability to keep the Chippewas in check until the game was well into the second half. "It was a dogfight tonight. We stuck to our principles, didn't give up, and kept fighting."
The Chippewas finished 26 of 37 from the free throw line – both numbers were season highs – and won the rebounding battle, 44-41, despite trailing in that category, 20-13, at halftime.
"I'm not talking about us coaches, but our players, I think they approached this like, 'We're good, look at our record and look at their record," Barbee said. "I just kept saying at timeouts, 'When your opponent is doing things at a high level, you have to figure out then how to raise your level.'
"I kept saying, it's not too late. It got to about eight minutes (remaining) and I was getting a little nervous, but at that point we found a way to raise our level and that's what got us over the top."
Easy win and move on, right?
Not by a long shot.
Paul McMillan IV stepped up big-time for injured point guard Anthony Pritchard and Central Michigan outscored Northern Illinois, 12-5, in the second overtime on Tuesday as the Chippewas wrestled away an 84-77 Mid-American Conference men's basketball victory at McGuirk Arena.
"Give them credit," CMU coach Tony Barbee said of the Huskies. "I'm not over there, I don't know what's going on with their team, but they're way better than their record.
"We had adversity, and we showed the kind of championship mettle, we showed the kind of championship grit that it takes. And I say that, it doesn't mean we're cutting down nets, it just means you have the kind of character in you."
The win was CMU's fourth straight and its seventh in its last eight starts.
The Chippewas, picked to finish last in the preseason poll, improved to 12-9, 7-2 MAC, their best conference start since 2000-01. They are in third place, one game behind Akron and Toledo, which are both 8-1 MAC.
CMU goes to Bowling Green on Saturday (5 p.m.). The Falcons (15-6) are in fourth place, one game behind CMU at 6-3 league.
McMillan, a sophomore transfer who has been a key reserve all season, took over at point guard for star Anthony Pritchard when Pritchard left the game with an injury with 3:07 remaining in regulation and the Chippewas clinging to a 58-55 lead.
At that point, McMillan had seven points. He scored 14 of his career-high 21 points after that, going a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line in the extra sessions while leading the Chippewas from the point guard spot.
"With (Pritchard) going down, my teammates and coaches were just telling me, you've got this, head up the team, keep us under control, and just finish the game out," said McMillan IV, who committed just one turnover while playing 34 minutes. "My coaches and teammates trust me in that position. They've seen me do it in practice many times and tonight my number was called and I had to step in, make sure we closed it out."
"Paul's a confident kid," Barbee said, "and we have confidence in him. He's been a spark for us off the bench (this season). When we sub him in, we don't lose anything defensive intensity wise; he's got big heart, big fight. And then he was filling some pretty big shoes. Paul stepped in and didn't miss a beat. He ran our team flawlessly from the point, got us in our offense, didn't panic against their press."
Markus Harding finished with 18 points and nine rebounds and Brian Taylor had 13 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and the ninth of his career.
Harding also left the game late with an apparent injury and even McMillan himself briefly sat down in the second overtime with what he said was a tweaked hamstring.
"We could have easily let go of the rope, but it shows the kind of character that we have that we never did – regardless of who was left (on the floor) – they believed, and they believed in each other," Barbee said.
Xavier Amos scored 25 points to lead NIU (6-14, 0-8), which played nothing like the MAC's only winless team in seizing the early lead and keeping the Chippewas off balance for much of the night.
CMU trailed by as many as 11 points and didn't take its first lead until Pritchard, who scored 16 points, hit a pair of free throws for a 56-55 advantage with 4:10 to play in regulation.
"They were playing hard, they wanted it more than we did," Taylor said of NIU's ability to keep the Chippewas in check until the game was well into the second half. "It was a dogfight tonight. We stuck to our principles, didn't give up, and kept fighting."
The Chippewas finished 26 of 37 from the free throw line – both numbers were season highs – and won the rebounding battle, 44-41, despite trailing in that category, 20-13, at halftime.
"I'm not talking about us coaches, but our players, I think they approached this like, 'We're good, look at our record and look at their record," Barbee said. "I just kept saying at timeouts, 'When your opponent is doing things at a high level, you have to figure out then how to raise your level.'
"I kept saying, it's not too late. It got to about eight minutes (remaining) and I was getting a little nervous, but at that point we found a way to raise our level and that's what got us over the top."
Team Stats
NIU
CMU
FG%
.409
.400
3FG%
.269
.286
FT%
.640
.703
RB
41
44
TO
14
13
STL
2
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
9
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
C
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