Simons ties record for most 3-pointers in program history, Chippewas roll Kent State
The crowd was chanting “Ke-no Da-vis.” The 3-point magic returned on the Harry Potter promotion night. And Chris Fowler even cracked a few smiles.
The Central Michigan men’s basketball team might not mind a repeat of Groundhog Day 2016.
CMU claimed its first regular season regulation victory over Kent State on Tuesday since Feb. 26, 1997 in dominant fashion. CMU was 1-13 overall against KSU since 2004.
When the clock hit 0:00, the Chippewas were up 88-61, handing the Golden Flashes their worst loss of the season. The 2,132 animated fans at McGuirk Arena saw CMU win its fourth game in a row, the longest streak of the season.
“All the games are very meaningful, especially the wins, but tonight even more so because of the respect we have for Kent State,” said Head Coach Keno Davis. “That was one of the teams we looked at when these seniors were freshmen, saying ‘Ok, that’s where we want to be.’”
Kent State entered McGuirk Arena tied for the best record in the Mid-American Conference. After Tuesday, CMU and KSU are two of three MAC teams with a 6-3 conference record — one game behind MAC leader Akron.
#3MU
Six Chippewas scored in double figures, as the Chippewas hit 14-of-29 3-point attempts. Overall, CMU shot 60.7 percent from the field, with sophomore guard Kozinski leading the team with 17 points.
Senior forward Simons was 4-for-8 beyond the arc, tying Robbie Harmon for the most 3-point field goals in program history with 233. He had two looks to break the record, but couldn’t connect.
Harmon, who played from 2006 to 2010 at CMU, was on the bench Tuesday joking around with Simons.
“I’m not going to force something to try and get the last one,” Simons said. “It feels good to finally make some threes.”
After entering the game with seven 3-point makes all season, senior guard Chris Fowler hit 3-of-4 attempts.
“We’ve been working in practice a lot on improving my jump shot,” he said. “When you play with guys like (Simons) and (Kozinski), it’s not hard to ask people to improve your jump shot because they know how to do it very well.”
The Golden Flashes pulled within three points early in the second half before five different Chippewas scored on a 14-1 CMU run.
KSU was without its third and fourth-leading scorers, senior guard Xavier Pollard and freshman guard Jaylin Walker. The pair combines for 20 points, five rebounds and four assists per game. Both sustained foot injuries last week and are out indefinitely.
Fowler said he could tell Kent State was missing guys who could “be creative off the dribble drive.”
“They were a little shorthanded,” Fowler said. “We know how that feels as well to play without some of your better players. They’ll get used to playing without those players and they’ll get better. They’re a tough basketball team.”
Facing the best, again
CMU will head to Akron (18-4, 7-2 MAC) Friday night for a primetime matchup on the CBSSports Network. The Zips are in sole possession of first place in the conference.
Akron comes in on a five-game winning streak. CMU ended Akron’s 10-game winning streak Jan. 12 at McGuirk Arena 92-81.
“If you’re not looking forward to playing Akron, playing on TV, playing for the top seed in the tournament, then you’re not a competitor,” Davis said. “And we’ve got a bunch of competitors on our team. We know it’s going to be a tough test. Arguably, Akron’s the toughest place to go in and win.”
The MAC has three teams in the top 100 in RPI (ratings percentage index) with Akron (65) Kent State (85) and Ohio (94).
CMU is 3-0 against those three teams.
