Men's basketball wins first game at Miami in nearly a quarter century
Senior guard Chris Fowler dribbles the ball at McGuirk Arena on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016.
It took almost 25 years, but the Central Michigan men's basketball team finally picked up a win in Oxford, Ohio.
For the first time since Feb. 27, 1991, the Chippewas won a game at Millett Hall as they downed Miami (Ohio) 68-51 on Tuesday.
CMU improves to 11-9 and 4-3 in the Mid-American Conference — tied for fourth in the MAC.
“That’s a good win to get out of the way," said Head Coach Keno Davis. "It’s really important for us going forward that you don’t have many more of those obstacles to overcome.”
Junior guard Braylon Rayson reached a milestone in the second half as he scored his 1,000th career point.
Miami scored the first points of the second half, cutting CMU's lead to 35-34, but CMU stormed ahead for a quick eight consecutive points. The run included back-to-back 3-pointers from Rayson and sophomore forward Luke Meyer to force a RedHawk timeout with 16:12 remaining.
The Chippewas scored five more points out of the timeout to push their run to 12-0. Miami battled back with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 50-43.
CMU prevented a RedHawk comeback, however. The Chippewas built up a 14-point lead with 2:16 to play before grabbing the 17-point victory.
Davis said this game, along with Saturday's win over Ohio, came because of great defensive efforts.
“Our guys came out of the locker room in the second half and became pretty confident about what they needed to do and obviously played well doing it," Davis said.
The RedHawks controlled the majority of the first half before CMU took its first lead, 28-27, with 3:36 left in the first half.
“I thought early we didn’t have as much energy as we needed," Davis said. "You’ve got to give credit to Miami (Ohio). They made those early threes, which spread us out and created more offense for them.”
Senior guard Chris Fowler scored 21 points and was an assist away from a double-double. Eleven of the 21 came off Fowler's 11 free throw attempts.
Davis added the guard's timing is getting better and Fowler agreed.
“I was healthy in terms of my body," Fowler said. "I feel like I can see (my rhythm) coming back. It’s coming.”
Rayson and senior guard Rayshawn Simmons added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
CMU shot 90 percent from the free-throw line, going 18-for-20. The Chippewas also were 8-for-19 from three.
While Davis emphasized the Chippewas' defensive improvement, he added CMU needs to do a better job rebounding, as the RedHawks won the battle of the boards, 34-29. Fowler said that CMU will continue to be 3MU.
“We are getting better and we are getting defensive-minded," Fowler said. "We’re not going away with the three.”
Miami was led by Rod Mills, who finished with 13 points. The RedHawks' leading scorer, Eric Washington, missed his first game of the season Tuesday with a lower-leg injury. It was Miami's 10th straight loss.
CMU will take on Bowling Green at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at McGuirk Arena. The Chippewas bested the Falcons 79-67 in Bowling Green, Ohio on Jan. 9. Davis said he expects a competitive game.
“You don’t know now what teams are really good," Davis said. "We know Bowling Green is coming in with talent, very well-coached and they aren’t going to lay down to anybody this year.”
