Central Michigan University Athletics
Tuesday, February 24
Kent, Ohio/Memorial Athletic & Convocation Center
7:00 PM
Central Michigan University
9-19,5-10MAC
81
at
83
Kent State
21-7,12-3MAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
42
39
81
Kent St.
32
51
83
Team Stats
CMU
KentSt
FG%
.509
.481
3FG%
.480
.375
FT%
.682
.786
RB
25
35
TO
13
13
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Kailey Hill '26 - @rahsignz
Chippewas Fall 83-81 at Kent State
2/24/2026 10:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kent State outscores CMU 12-1 in game’s final 2:48; Central Michigan’s Phat Phat Brooks ties a career-high with 20 points, seven assists, and five rebounds; Logan McIntire finishes with 17 points; Tamario Adley adds 15 in heartbreaker.
KENT, Ohio—Rob Whaley, Jr. swished a jumper with one second left and Kent State overcame a nine-point deficit with 2:48 to play to claim an 83-81 win over Central Michigan Tuesday evening at the Memorial Athletic & Convocation Center.
Kent State outscored CMU 12-1 in the game's final 2:48 as it converted 2-3 field goals and 8-9 free throws. The Golden Flashes went to the free throw line on four straight offensive possessions before Whaley's game-winner. During that time, CMU missed four field goal attempts, went 1-2 from the free throw line, committed three turnovers and fouled four times.
After Central Michigan's Phat Phat Brooks converted a free throw to tie the score at 81-81 with 18 seconds left, Kent State took possession, ran its offense and the ball found Whaley in the corner, who faked and then converted the shot. CMU had the last possession with 0.1 seconds on the clock.
"We got on our heels, didn't make any plays," Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema said. "We fouled them every time down the floor, missed some opportunities to make a few free throws, and make a couple big shots that we needed to ice the game. Definitely we were playing tentative but trying not to. Another heartbreaker, our guys gave what they had, and it wasn't enough."
"We gave a winning effort and we didn't win. You have to finish it out. Our turnovers came at the end and they were bad turnovers. We couldn't get any stops, and we fouled. It was a bad last seven minutes."
With the loss, Central Michigan drops to 9-19 overall and 5-10 in the MAC, while Kent State improves to 21-7 overall and 11-3 in the MAC. With three regular season games remaining for Central Michigan, the Chippewas remain in ninth place, a half-game behind eighth-place Massachusetts (6-10) and a full game behind seventh-place Buffalo (6-9). The top 8 teams advance to the MAC Tournament, March 12-14, in Cleveland.
Next up for Central Michigan, the Chippewas play at Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 28 for a 2 p.m. tipoff. CMU hosts Akron at McGuirk Arena on Tuesday, March 3, and then closes the regular season at Ball State on Friday, March 6 (7 p.m.).
Brooks led Central Michigan with a game and career-high tying 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists. He hit 6-7 field goals and 8-11 free throws. Logan McIntire converted 4-9 3-pointers for 17 points and Tamario Adley hit a career-high five 3-pointers, grabbed a game-high six rebounds, and finished with 15 points. Claerbaut scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds before fouling out at the 2:48 mark. The Chippewas shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the floor and converted 12 of 25 3-pointers for 48 percent.
Kent State placed six players in double figures, led by Delrecco Gillespie's 17 points and 11 rebounds, Jahari Williamson's 16 points, Quinn Woidke's 15, and Morgan Safford's 14 points. Cian Medley added 11 points and Whaley finished with 10.
Trailing by 12 points, Kent State went on an 8-0 run to cut its deficit down to four points (63-59) with 10:34 to play. The Golden Flashes used back-to-back 3-pointers by Quinn Woidke and a Whaley jumper in the run. But Central Michigan answered with a 7-0 run to push the lead back up to 11 points (70-59) on an Adley 3-pointer with eight minutes to play.
The Chippewas went up 80-71 at the 2:48 mark, taking advantage of a Claerbaut offensive rebound putback and three free throws by McIntire after a Kent State technical foul.
But Kent State's Quinn Woidke converted a 3-point play, Whaley hit two free throws after Claerbaut fouled out, Medley hit four straight free throws on two CMU fouls, Gillespie added 1-2 free throws and Whaley's game-winner ended the game.
Central Michigan built a 42-32 halftime lead as it hit seven 3-pointers and shot 55.2 percent (16-29) from the floor. The Chippewas got off to a fast start with an 11-4 lead, fueled by three 3-pointers from Tamario Adley. A Jaxson Whitaker 3-pointer gave the Chippewas an 11-point lead (20-9) at the 12:21 mark. Minutes later, Logan McIntire hit a 3-pointer off the fast break to give the Chippewas a commanding 28-13 lead with 9:33 to play in the first half. McIntire hit another 3-pointer followed by a layup by Nick Mullen that put CMU up 18 points (35-17) with 6:30 to go. The Chippewas led by as many as 19 points (38-19) with 4:12 left in the first half on a 3-point play by Phat Phat Brooks.
But Kent State answered with a 7-0 run led by Gillespie to cut the lead down to 10 points at halftime.
Central Michigan was attempting to register its first regular season sweep against Kent State since the 1986-87 season. The Chippewas claimed the first matchup, 87-85 on Jan. 10, 2026 at McGuirk Arena.
Kent State outscored CMU 12-1 in the game's final 2:48 as it converted 2-3 field goals and 8-9 free throws. The Golden Flashes went to the free throw line on four straight offensive possessions before Whaley's game-winner. During that time, CMU missed four field goal attempts, went 1-2 from the free throw line, committed three turnovers and fouled four times.
After Central Michigan's Phat Phat Brooks converted a free throw to tie the score at 81-81 with 18 seconds left, Kent State took possession, ran its offense and the ball found Whaley in the corner, who faked and then converted the shot. CMU had the last possession with 0.1 seconds on the clock.
"We got on our heels, didn't make any plays," Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema said. "We fouled them every time down the floor, missed some opportunities to make a few free throws, and make a couple big shots that we needed to ice the game. Definitely we were playing tentative but trying not to. Another heartbreaker, our guys gave what they had, and it wasn't enough."
"We gave a winning effort and we didn't win. You have to finish it out. Our turnovers came at the end and they were bad turnovers. We couldn't get any stops, and we fouled. It was a bad last seven minutes."
With the loss, Central Michigan drops to 9-19 overall and 5-10 in the MAC, while Kent State improves to 21-7 overall and 11-3 in the MAC. With three regular season games remaining for Central Michigan, the Chippewas remain in ninth place, a half-game behind eighth-place Massachusetts (6-10) and a full game behind seventh-place Buffalo (6-9). The top 8 teams advance to the MAC Tournament, March 12-14, in Cleveland.
Next up for Central Michigan, the Chippewas play at Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 28 for a 2 p.m. tipoff. CMU hosts Akron at McGuirk Arena on Tuesday, March 3, and then closes the regular season at Ball State on Friday, March 6 (7 p.m.).
Brooks led Central Michigan with a game and career-high tying 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists. He hit 6-7 field goals and 8-11 free throws. Logan McIntire converted 4-9 3-pointers for 17 points and Tamario Adley hit a career-high five 3-pointers, grabbed a game-high six rebounds, and finished with 15 points. Claerbaut scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds before fouling out at the 2:48 mark. The Chippewas shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the floor and converted 12 of 25 3-pointers for 48 percent.
Kent State placed six players in double figures, led by Delrecco Gillespie's 17 points and 11 rebounds, Jahari Williamson's 16 points, Quinn Woidke's 15, and Morgan Safford's 14 points. Cian Medley added 11 points and Whaley finished with 10.
Trailing by 12 points, Kent State went on an 8-0 run to cut its deficit down to four points (63-59) with 10:34 to play. The Golden Flashes used back-to-back 3-pointers by Quinn Woidke and a Whaley jumper in the run. But Central Michigan answered with a 7-0 run to push the lead back up to 11 points (70-59) on an Adley 3-pointer with eight minutes to play.
The Chippewas went up 80-71 at the 2:48 mark, taking advantage of a Claerbaut offensive rebound putback and three free throws by McIntire after a Kent State technical foul.
But Kent State's Quinn Woidke converted a 3-point play, Whaley hit two free throws after Claerbaut fouled out, Medley hit four straight free throws on two CMU fouls, Gillespie added 1-2 free throws and Whaley's game-winner ended the game.
Central Michigan built a 42-32 halftime lead as it hit seven 3-pointers and shot 55.2 percent (16-29) from the floor. The Chippewas got off to a fast start with an 11-4 lead, fueled by three 3-pointers from Tamario Adley. A Jaxson Whitaker 3-pointer gave the Chippewas an 11-point lead (20-9) at the 12:21 mark. Minutes later, Logan McIntire hit a 3-pointer off the fast break to give the Chippewas a commanding 28-13 lead with 9:33 to play in the first half. McIntire hit another 3-pointer followed by a layup by Nick Mullen that put CMU up 18 points (35-17) with 6:30 to go. The Chippewas led by as many as 19 points (38-19) with 4:12 left in the first half on a 3-point play by Phat Phat Brooks.
But Kent State answered with a 7-0 run led by Gillespie to cut the lead down to 10 points at halftime.
Central Michigan was attempting to register its first regular season sweep against Kent State since the 1986-87 season. The Chippewas claimed the first matchup, 87-85 on Jan. 10, 2026 at McGuirk Arena.
—CMU—
MBB vs. Western Michigan Highlights
Monday, February 23
Men's Basketball Western Hype
Friday, February 20
Nathan Claerbaut Video Feature
Wednesday, February 18
MBB Win Melt vs NIU
Tuesday, February 17