Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, November 14
St. Petersburg, Fla./Eckerd College/McArthur Center
11:00 AM
Central Michigan University
2-2,0-0MAC
82
vs
59
Coppin State
0-5,0-0MEAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
41
41
82
Coppin St.
29
30
59
Team Stats
CMU
Coppin
FG%
.478
.339
3FG%
.333
.211
FT%
.733
.722
RB
45
34
TO
11
13
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Lauren Verellen
Chippewas Down Coppin State 82-59 Behind Nathan Claerbaut's Second Straight Double-Double
11/14/2025 3:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Nathan Claerbaut posts second straight double-double with game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds; Rodney Johnson, Jr. scores 15 points; Phat Phat Brooks adds 14.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Nathan Claerbaut posted his second straight double-double with a game and career-high 20 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds, Rodney Johnson, Jr. scored a season-high 15 points and Phat Phat Brooks finished with 14 points as the Central Michigan men's basketball team concluded its two-game road swing to Florida with an 82-59 victory over Coppin State Friday morning at Eckerd College's McArthur Center.
The victory evened Central Michigan's record at 2-2 after four games, while Coppin State dropped to 0-5. CMU's two-game trip to Florida was part of the Showdown at St. Pete event. The Chippewas travel back to Mount Pleasant and have nearly a week to prepare for a Thursday, Nov. 20 home game vs. Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET.
Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema was proud of his team as it rebounded from a close 66-64 loss to Bradley yesterday.
"It felt good, it felt even better considering the way we competed today," Bronkema said. "That's what we've been talking about. We've seen it in stretches and today we saw it in long stretches. They made a good run in the first half, and I thought we handled that well and bounced back. A lot of people played really hard today. We played two 11 a.m. games back-to-back and we were ready to go."
"We forced 13 turnovers, and we got out on the break and got some easy ones. When a team is switching from zone to man-to-man, it can get you off-balance or when they're scrambling out of a press. I was impressed with our players' willingness to make the extra pass, play under control, and break the defense down."
The Chippewas outrebounded Coppin State 45-34, forced 13 turnovers and shot 47.8 percent (32-67) from the floor.
Claerbaut was a force down low as he was efficient and dominated the boards. He converted 9-10 of his field goal attempts, grabbed four offensive rebounds and blocked two shots. Johnson came off the bench to hit 6-13 shots, two 3-pointers, and also hauled in eight rebounds, and Brooks controlled the offense with four assists and five rebounds. Off the bench, Jaxson Whitaker hit 4-5 3-pointers en route to 12 points and Nick Mullen blocked a game-high three shots, grabbed seven rebounds, and scored nine points. To go along with his 12-point and 14-rebound performance yesterday vs. Bradley, Claerbaut now leads the team in scoring (11.5 ppg.) and rebounding (8.5 rpg.).
"Everybody's got to get the rebounds," Bronkema said. "It's not just Nate's job to go get the rebounds. Today and yesterday, he had two big double-doubles in a row. He played great and really just competed. I throw that word around a lot because on this trip, we've been talking about it. Playing hard does a world of good for the team. It makes the difference. Everything you run, all your ideas, they work better when you get after it. It's not that's he's rebounding, he's carving out space, getting two hands on the ball. Nate led the way, but a lot of guys got on the boards today."
Central Michigan took control early in the game. It used a 10-0 run to take a 15-6 lead. Claerbaut started the rally with hook shot, Brooks scored a fast break layup, then hit two free throws, Will Ashford banked in a jumper, then Claerbaut scored on a putback and all of a sudden, the Chippewas led 15-6. Later, a Whitaker 3-pointer made it 33-17 Central Michigan with 6:01 to go in the first half.
But Coppin State responded by outscoring CMU 12-2, including an 8-0 run on two 3-pointers by Kalhi Horton and a Hassan Perkins layup and then two more field goals to cut CMU's lead down to six points (35-29) with 2:05 left in the half.
The Chippewas closed out the half with a 6-0 run as they took advantage of two Coppin State turnovers and Johnson, Jr. scored on a 3-point play and followed with a 3-pointer to grab a 41-29 halftime lead.
It was all Central Michigan in the second half as it extended its lead to as many 25 points.
Bronkema also had some nice words for his young point guard Brooks, who had only one turnover in 28 minutes of action.
"This is essentially Phat Phat's first experience in college and I'm so proud of him," Bronkema said. "I'm probably the best thing for him and some days, the worst day for him because I'm going to hold him accountable and to a standard. At the end of the day, that's what he signed up for. He's a competitor so he wants it. The style of play today was more beneficial to him as we weren't facing a zone. His development is going to grow and we're committed to that. Our internal expectations and belief in players is all that really matters."
Coppin State was led by Demariontay Hall, who finished with 13 points. Khali Horton added 11 points off the bench and Tyler Koenig had 10 points and seven rebounds.
The victory evened Central Michigan's record at 2-2 after four games, while Coppin State dropped to 0-5. CMU's two-game trip to Florida was part of the Showdown at St. Pete event. The Chippewas travel back to Mount Pleasant and have nearly a week to prepare for a Thursday, Nov. 20 home game vs. Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET.
Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema was proud of his team as it rebounded from a close 66-64 loss to Bradley yesterday.
"It felt good, it felt even better considering the way we competed today," Bronkema said. "That's what we've been talking about. We've seen it in stretches and today we saw it in long stretches. They made a good run in the first half, and I thought we handled that well and bounced back. A lot of people played really hard today. We played two 11 a.m. games back-to-back and we were ready to go."
"We forced 13 turnovers, and we got out on the break and got some easy ones. When a team is switching from zone to man-to-man, it can get you off-balance or when they're scrambling out of a press. I was impressed with our players' willingness to make the extra pass, play under control, and break the defense down."
The Chippewas outrebounded Coppin State 45-34, forced 13 turnovers and shot 47.8 percent (32-67) from the floor.
Claerbaut was a force down low as he was efficient and dominated the boards. He converted 9-10 of his field goal attempts, grabbed four offensive rebounds and blocked two shots. Johnson came off the bench to hit 6-13 shots, two 3-pointers, and also hauled in eight rebounds, and Brooks controlled the offense with four assists and five rebounds. Off the bench, Jaxson Whitaker hit 4-5 3-pointers en route to 12 points and Nick Mullen blocked a game-high three shots, grabbed seven rebounds, and scored nine points. To go along with his 12-point and 14-rebound performance yesterday vs. Bradley, Claerbaut now leads the team in scoring (11.5 ppg.) and rebounding (8.5 rpg.).
"Everybody's got to get the rebounds," Bronkema said. "It's not just Nate's job to go get the rebounds. Today and yesterday, he had two big double-doubles in a row. He played great and really just competed. I throw that word around a lot because on this trip, we've been talking about it. Playing hard does a world of good for the team. It makes the difference. Everything you run, all your ideas, they work better when you get after it. It's not that's he's rebounding, he's carving out space, getting two hands on the ball. Nate led the way, but a lot of guys got on the boards today."
Central Michigan took control early in the game. It used a 10-0 run to take a 15-6 lead. Claerbaut started the rally with hook shot, Brooks scored a fast break layup, then hit two free throws, Will Ashford banked in a jumper, then Claerbaut scored on a putback and all of a sudden, the Chippewas led 15-6. Later, a Whitaker 3-pointer made it 33-17 Central Michigan with 6:01 to go in the first half.
But Coppin State responded by outscoring CMU 12-2, including an 8-0 run on two 3-pointers by Kalhi Horton and a Hassan Perkins layup and then two more field goals to cut CMU's lead down to six points (35-29) with 2:05 left in the half.
The Chippewas closed out the half with a 6-0 run as they took advantage of two Coppin State turnovers and Johnson, Jr. scored on a 3-point play and followed with a 3-pointer to grab a 41-29 halftime lead.
It was all Central Michigan in the second half as it extended its lead to as many 25 points.
Bronkema also had some nice words for his young point guard Brooks, who had only one turnover in 28 minutes of action.
"This is essentially Phat Phat's first experience in college and I'm so proud of him," Bronkema said. "I'm probably the best thing for him and some days, the worst day for him because I'm going to hold him accountable and to a standard. At the end of the day, that's what he signed up for. He's a competitor so he wants it. The style of play today was more beneficial to him as we weren't facing a zone. His development is going to grow and we're committed to that. Our internal expectations and belief in players is all that really matters."
Coppin State was led by Demariontay Hall, who finished with 13 points. Khali Horton added 11 points off the bench and Tyler Koenig had 10 points and seven rebounds.
—CMU—
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