Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, November 22
Milwaukee, Wis./Fiserv Forum
2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM CT
Central Michigan University
2-4,0-0MAC
71
at
85
Marquette
4-3,0-0Big East
1
2
F
Central Mich.
36
35
71
Marquette
41
44
85
Team Stats
CMU
Marq
FG%
.406
.528
3FG%
.278
.333
FT%
.714
.629
RB
36
36
TO
11
9
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Lauren Verellen
Chippewas Hang Tough, Drop 85-71 Decision at Marquette
11/22/2025 6:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Chippewas dish out season-high 18 assists, grab a season-high 20 offensive rebounds and tie season-low for turnovers (11); Nathan Claerbaut scores 14 points with seven rebounds; Phat Phat Brooks finishes with 12 points; Tamario Adley adds 10 points, career-high eight rebounds.
MILWAUKEE, Wis.—Central Michigan battled and kept the game close throughout, but it couldn't overcome a 27-point performance by Marquette's Chase Ross as the host Golden Eagles pulled away in the closing minutes to register an 85-71 win over the Chippewas Saturday afternoon before 14,034 fans at Fiserv Forum.
The loss drops Central Michigan to 2-4 on the year, while Marquette improves to 4-3. Next up for Central Michigan, the Chippewas will host Adrian on Tuesday at McGuirk Arena. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET.
Marquette converted 22-35 free throws and hit 52.8 percent (28-53) of its field goal attempts, while Ross hit 12-14 free throws and 7-8 field goals. Zaide Lowery added 12 points and Adrien Stevens nine in the contest.
Central Michigan turned the ball over a season-low tying 11 times, grabbed a season-high 20 offensive rebounds, and had a season-high 18 assists on 28 field goals. The Chippewas placed three players in double figure scoring including center Nathan Claerbaut, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, guard Phat Phat Brooks, who scored 12 points off the bench, and guard Tamario Adley, who added 10 points. Claerbaut has now scored in double figures in each of Central Michigan's last five games.
The game was played much closer than the final score indicates. There were 12 lead changes and four ties and Central Michigan never trailed by more than 10 points until the 9:40 mark of the second half. And when Marquette looked like it would open the game up, Central Michigan continually countered with runs to keep it close.
Central Michigan trailed by just five points (73-68) with 4:41 to play, but Marquette closed the game out and outscored the Chippewas 10-3 in the final minutes. Marquette's Adrien Stevens scored on a driving layup and the Golden Eagles took advantage of a turnover as Chase Ross scored on two free throws for a 77-68 lead with 2:44 to go. After CMU's Tamario Adley made 1-2 free throws, Ross made it 79-69 Marquette on another driving layup with 1:57 left.
Marquette held CMU scoreless over the final 1:26 and hit two 3-pointers by Ben Gold and Stevens for its largest lead of the game, 14 points, which became the final score.
Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema was pleased with his team's performance.
"Honestly, just a ton of positives today," Bronkema said. "The things we wanted to get better at from our last game, we did. We took care of the basketball—we had two costly turnovers at the end, but we had it at single-digit turnovers against a team that turns you over 18 times per game, and a couple of lazy bounce passes that they converted—and it went from a two-possession game to out of reach. We played hard for the whole game and kept the rebounding even, shot a lot more shots than they did, but part of that was the free throw difference. On defense, we did not hold them to a low-enough percentage, but the effort was outstanding today."
"We walked away from the Northern Kentucky game with a couple of alarming things for the team. We addressed those immediately and they got addressed in the game today. That is a great sign for a team that wants to listen. The things we wanted to focus on, we were able to do tonight, that's big-time growth."
Marquette led 41-36 at halftime, though the game felt much closer. Neither team led by more than three points until Marquette went up five points (30-25) with 8:37 left in the first half. The Golden Eagles closed out the half.
Central Michigan started Nick Mullen and Rodney Johnson, Jr. at forward, Claerbaut at center, and Logan McIntire and Tamario Adley at guard.
The loss drops Central Michigan to 2-4 on the year, while Marquette improves to 4-3. Next up for Central Michigan, the Chippewas will host Adrian on Tuesday at McGuirk Arena. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET.
Marquette converted 22-35 free throws and hit 52.8 percent (28-53) of its field goal attempts, while Ross hit 12-14 free throws and 7-8 field goals. Zaide Lowery added 12 points and Adrien Stevens nine in the contest.
Central Michigan turned the ball over a season-low tying 11 times, grabbed a season-high 20 offensive rebounds, and had a season-high 18 assists on 28 field goals. The Chippewas placed three players in double figure scoring including center Nathan Claerbaut, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, guard Phat Phat Brooks, who scored 12 points off the bench, and guard Tamario Adley, who added 10 points. Claerbaut has now scored in double figures in each of Central Michigan's last five games.
The game was played much closer than the final score indicates. There were 12 lead changes and four ties and Central Michigan never trailed by more than 10 points until the 9:40 mark of the second half. And when Marquette looked like it would open the game up, Central Michigan continually countered with runs to keep it close.
Central Michigan trailed by just five points (73-68) with 4:41 to play, but Marquette closed the game out and outscored the Chippewas 10-3 in the final minutes. Marquette's Adrien Stevens scored on a driving layup and the Golden Eagles took advantage of a turnover as Chase Ross scored on two free throws for a 77-68 lead with 2:44 to go. After CMU's Tamario Adley made 1-2 free throws, Ross made it 79-69 Marquette on another driving layup with 1:57 left.
Marquette held CMU scoreless over the final 1:26 and hit two 3-pointers by Ben Gold and Stevens for its largest lead of the game, 14 points, which became the final score.
Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema was pleased with his team's performance.
"Honestly, just a ton of positives today," Bronkema said. "The things we wanted to get better at from our last game, we did. We took care of the basketball—we had two costly turnovers at the end, but we had it at single-digit turnovers against a team that turns you over 18 times per game, and a couple of lazy bounce passes that they converted—and it went from a two-possession game to out of reach. We played hard for the whole game and kept the rebounding even, shot a lot more shots than they did, but part of that was the free throw difference. On defense, we did not hold them to a low-enough percentage, but the effort was outstanding today."
"We walked away from the Northern Kentucky game with a couple of alarming things for the team. We addressed those immediately and they got addressed in the game today. That is a great sign for a team that wants to listen. The things we wanted to focus on, we were able to do tonight, that's big-time growth."
Marquette led 41-36 at halftime, though the game felt much closer. Neither team led by more than three points until Marquette went up five points (30-25) with 8:37 left in the first half. The Golden Eagles closed out the half.
Central Michigan started Nick Mullen and Rodney Johnson, Jr. at forward, Claerbaut at center, and Logan McIntire and Tamario Adley at guard.
—CMU—
Men's Basketball Insider - 11.3.25
Monday, November 03
Mens Basketball Alumni Game
Monday, October 27
2025-26 MBB Preseason Press Conference - Phat Phat Brooks & Logan McIntire
Tuesday, October 21
2025-26 MBB Preseason Press Conference - Head Coach Andy Bronkema
Tuesday, October 21