Rayson helps men's basketball sink Akron's 10-game winning streak
Senior guard Rayshawn Simmons drives to the basket at McGuirk Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016.
The Central Michigan men's basketball team had been coined with the nickname "3MU" for its ability to shoot a high percentage from the 3-point line.
CMU reminded its fans and the Akron men's basketball team that they have some accuracy from the free-throw line as well.
On a night where the Chippewas shot only 25 percent from beyond the arc, they converted 25-of-28 from the free-throw line in a 92-81 victory over the Zips Tuesday at McGuirk Arena.
CMU (9-7) improves to 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play. The Chippewas snapped Akron's 10-game winning streak and held Zips leading scorer, guard Antino Jackson, to only five points.
“I don’t think there is any doubt that this was our best game, best effort (and) best execution," said CMU Head Coach Keno Davis. "If we play like that, we’ll win our share of games the rest of the way.”
Four players scored in double figures for the Chippewas. Junior guard Braylon Rayson followed his 27-point performance against Bowling Green on Saturday with 24 points. Senior guard Chris Fowler had 20 points while senior guard Rayshawn Simmons added 18 points and sophomore forward Luke Meyer totaled 14 points.
The Chippewas were trailing by one with under 10 minutes to play when Rayson scored to put CMU up 59-58. On the next possession, he tripled to extend the lead to four, 62-58.
Rayson attempted another 3-pointer unsuccessfully, but a putback dunk from Meyer with 8:25 left ignited the crowd and gave CMU a 64-58 advantage.
The Zips cut the lead to two, 68-66, but the Chippewas came back with help from the free-throw line from Rayson. He made a layup, drew a foul and converted the and-one to put CMU ahead 76-66 with 2:34 left.
As the Zips fought back, Jackson was called for his fifth foul and then a technical to send Rayson back to the charity stripe, only to convert two more free throws.
Rayson made two more free throws later on to give him 24 points and a 10-of-10 day from the foul line.
“I’m making shots and my teammates are finding me," Rayson said of his performance.
The game featured 11 lead changes and five ties. Davis said an ability to get to the free-throw line helped make a difference and cited Rayson, Fowler and Simmons.
“We know those three guys are best at getting to the line," Davis said. "It’s hard to see a day where you don’t find them in the morning or the evening, before practice or after practice, not only working on their game, but on their free throws. It’s a credit to them that they’ve continued to work.”
Davis added Akron "has been the class of this conference as far as having talent and success over a long period of time.” Fowler said he treated this game like every other game.
“Every team has been a championship game from game one," Fowler said. "We don’t put a value on certain teams. We like winning. Tonight was our championship game and we’ll head to Buffalo (on Saturday) with the same mindset.”
Playing in the post
Akron falls to 13-3 and 2-1 in the MAC. The Zips are the favorites to win the MAC East and boasted a big lineup, including 6-foot-10, 295-pound junior center Isaiah Johnson.
The Chippewas counteracted Johnson with Meyer and fellow sophomore forward DaRohn Scott. Meyer had 14 points and the two combined for 14 rebounds compared to Johnson's six.
Davis said he was pleased with the sophomore duo's effort in the post.
"I thought we were only able to not get beat (down low) because of the effort that Luke and DaRohn brought and they were able to sub for each other," Davis said. "It sure seemed every time they came out they were out of breath. I felt like they played as hard as they could and it’s going to be exciting to see how much they can continue to improve this year and throughout their career here.”
Rayson also encountered Johnson when the Chippewas were on offense early in the game.
“At the beginning of the game, they put (Johnson) on me," Rayson said. "That’s just straight (isolation). He’s 300 pounds. It didn’t really bother me really.”
Davis added that he wants to see his program become like the Zips, who have won three MAC Tournaments since 2009.
"I think for us as a program and as coaches and as an administration, the success Akron has had is what we want to have," Davis said. "That means winning over the long term, winning every year, being able to be competitive, to challenge and to compete for championships."
Davis added his team is heading in the right direction.
"We’re not there yet but we are in a spot where we can win on any given night and that shows we’ve come a long ways," he said. "That’s a credit to the character of our student-athletes who have represented our school so well.”
CMU will travel to New York to take on Buffalo at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
