Complacent actions by the Chippewas cost team a win against Buffalo
Gen: CMU men’s basketball defeats Western 65-55, Thursday, Feb. 3, in McGuirk Arena.
Photo:North Miami senior Ralph Bissainthe shoots a three against Western, Thursday, Feb. 3, in McGuirk Arena.
Although Central Michigan men's basketball took down its last three opponents, it couldn't quite pull together a fourth consecutive win against their Mid-American Conference opponent Buffalo on Saturday.
The Chippewas (5-14, 4-4) lost the fight to Buffalo 74-54 (11-8, 5-4).
“We should have had more of a pop, more of a rhythm, more of a sense of urgency, because we are the team that has been playing games and they are the team that has been home resting and not playing, '' said head coach Tony Barbee. “So that is the disappointing thing that they were the team that played harder and tougher. That's what we have done over the course of the last four games not just the last three and we were not that team today.”
The Chippewas started off strong taking the lead, but they lost their footing soon after letting Buffalo go on a 10-5 run with less than five minutes remaining in the half. The fans, dressed in all white, hoped to spark a fire for the Chippewas by chanting “fire up chips” as time was ticking in the half.
The Chippewas shot 2-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first, as they ended the half trailing to Buffalo 34-27. This is the Chippewas second game in a row where three-point shots were cold in the first.
Buffalo came out of the half still hitting shots left and right upping its lead to 10 points. A shining moment of a steal, rebound and a layup from CMU forward Ralph Bissainthe brought Buffalo's lead back in the single digits.
The Chippewas were right around the corner on Buffalo's lead until multiple spurts of cold scoring from the Chippewas sent them into a 16-point deficit. Buffalo took advantage of their opponent's streak of cold scoring upping the lead by 27.
Once again, the Chippewas lacked from the three-point line shooting 3-for-11. They did manage to score back-to-back three pointers by Bissainthe and Brian Taylor, going on a 7-0 run to end up falling to Buffalo 74-54.
The Chippewas leading scorer Bissainthe had a career high of 19 points and four assists. Kevin Miller was not far behind with 14 points. Cameron Healy had a team-high of five rebounds.
Buffalo's leading scorer Jeenathan Williams had 19 points and five assists. Maceo Jack had a game-high of 9 rebounds.
The Chippewas will hit the road to take on Ball State on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
