Chippewas Defeat North Park 88-44 in Final Exhibition Game - Central Michigan University Athletics

Tuesday, October 27

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

7:30 p.m.

Central Michigan University

North Park (Exh.)

CMU Men's Basketball vs North Park University October 27, 2026

Photo by: Matthew MacPhee '28 - @mattsvisuals_

Photo by: Katrina Shammami - @mediabykat

10/27/2026 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Photo Gallery

Keenan Garner and Phat Phat Brooks spark the Chippewas; Central Michigan’s early second half run puts game out of reach; Chippewas honor CMU alum and North Park head coach Robbie Harman.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Keenan Garner (15 points) and Phat Phat Brooks (14 points) sparked the Chippewas as Central Michigan used an early second half run to take control and claim an 88-44 men's basketball exhibition win over North Park Tuesday evening at McGuirk Arena.

Central Michigan opens its regular season next Monday with a MAC-SBC Challenge game at UL Monroe. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.

Garner finished with 15 points (6-8 FG) with eight rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes, Brooks added 14 points, eight rebounds in 20 minutes. Jayden Hackett came off the bench to score 10 points (4-6 FG), Jalen Kampen contributed eight points and three assists, Kareem Aburashed added nine points in 11 minutes, and Brock Mendoza finished with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Central Michigan led by eight points at halftime, but the Chippewas opened the second half on a game-breaking run as they scored 13 of the first 15 points. A 9-0 run gave CMU a commanding 45-26 lead at the 16:18 mark. CMU opened the half with back-to-back fast break layups off turnovers by Garner and Brooks. After a North Park basket, the Chippewas scored nine straight points led by Kampen's layup, two Brooks free throws, a 3-pointer by Brooks, and a layup by Conrad Luczynski in the paint.

In the second half, Central Michigan outscored North Park 56-20. The Chippewas shot 56.4 percent (22-39) from the floor, 5-19 from 3-point range and cut their turnovers down from 12 in the first half to three.

CMU pushed its lead to 31 points (61-30) at the 11:06 mark on a Garner layup. They led by as many as 46 with 16 seconds to play on Aburashed's tip-in.

In the end, Central Michigan scored on 33 of 67 field goals, hit 10 3-pointers, outrebounded North Park 50-28, and assisted on 21 of 33 field goals.

After a back-and forth first 15 minutes of the game, Central Michigan began to pull away when Brooks scored five straight points on a 3-pointer and jumper to give the Chippewas a 25-18 lead with 5:12 to play in the half. CMU extended its lead to 32-24 at halftime after Garner hit a jumper and a 3-pointer. Garner finished the first half with 11 points and Brooks added seven points and eight rebounds.

Garner, Brock Mendoza, Kampen, Whitaker, and Brooks started for Central Michigan.

North Park was led by Mike Vuckovic, who finished with a team-high 13 points.

For the second exhibition game, Central Michigan played a team with a CMU alum as its head coach. This time it was North Park head coach Robbie Harman. The Chippewas played a series of Harman's basketball highlights prior to tipoff.

Harman was a two-sport athlete at Central Michigan. At Central Michigan, Harman played four years of baseball and basketball. On the court, he was a part of two NCAA Division I MAC West Division Championships. He surpassed the 1,000-point mark and led the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game in 2010 with 3.5 per game. He was a Second Team All-MAC selection in 2010.

Harman was also a member of Central Michigan's baseball program before continuing his basketball career professionally in the Netherlands with Stepco BSW of the Dutch Basketball League. On the diamond, Harman was part of a MAC Championship team in 2010. Harman earned both his bachelor's degree in sport management and master's degree in sport administration from Central Michigan University.

—CMU—