Men's basketball unable to get win over WMU
After missing a large chunk of games due to Covid-19, the fatigue of the Chippewas remaining schedule is starting to show. They were unable to stay competitive throughout Saturday's game in Kalamazoo.
In their second matchup of the year, the Western Michigan Broncos snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 77-63 win over CMU.
CMU (6-16, 5-6) dropped its second consecutive game as WMU (4-20, 1-13) got its first MAC win of the season
The Broncos came into this game with unmatched intensity. Their first half defense was strong, and their offense was explosive. On the flipside, the Chippewas got off to a slow start. Their shots weren’t falling, and the fastbreak defense was too slow.
CMU’s offense looked unorganized in the first half. The shots they were able to get up were not the designed looks the coaches drew up. They shot and underwhelming 31% from field and only 27% from the three in the only scoring 24 first half points.
WMU scored a season-best 47 points in the first half and tore the Chippewas defense apart. The Broncos drained eight three-pointers and guard Lamar Norman Jr. had half of those, finishing with 25 points, five rebounds and zero turnovers.
Second half play was slow to start for both teams. Unfortunately, the Chippewas were unable to take advantage of the Broncos offensive woes until the 30-minute mark. The largest deficit of the game had the Chippewas down 25 points, but they eventually went on a late game scoring run that brought them within 12 points. That would be the closest the Chippewas would get.
The few bright spots for CMU began with guard Kevin Miller, who finished with a team high 24 points on 9-18 shooting, 4-6 from deep, seven rebound and five assists. Wing Brian Taylor scored 12 points with nine rebounds and forward Ralph Bissainthe added 11 points and three deep balls on 4-8 from the field.
Even though the Broncos went 6-22 from the field in the second half and the Chippewas outscored them 39-30 they needed more players to add to the scoring column. Two important CMU scoring options proved to be non-factors as guard Cam Healy went 1-10 in the game, and forward Harrison Henderson scored a mere two points.
The Chippewas are back home to face another in-state competitor in Eastern Michigan on Tue. at 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.
