CMU men's basketball falls at Akron
Head coach Tony Barbee speaks to sophomore guard Paul McMillan IV during the men's basketball game against Kent State Saturday, Jan. 13 in McGuirk Arena. Barbee is in his third season as the Chippewa's head coach. (Ella Miller | CM Life)
Central Michigan men’s basketball’s five-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday, as the Chippewas lost to the number one team in the Mid-American Conference, Akron in a final score of 68-47.
The loss which was a battle between the top two teams in the MAC, brings the Chippewas to 13-10 on the season and 8-3 in MAC play, dropping CMU to the third seed.
It was the same story for CMU as it held the Akron offense that averages 76 points a game, to only 68 points in the game. The Zips only shot 35% (25-70) from the field, one of its worst performances of the season.
Central Michigan’s offense struggled yet again, scoring only 48 points, its second lowest points scored in a game this season. The Chippewas offense only managed 20 first half points, not scoring until six minutes in the game.
CMU found itself down in a hole early, as the Zips opened the game on a 13-0 run. The Chippewas then scored a few times, but Akron continued to outscore them.
With three minutes remaining in the first half Akron held a 24-point lead over CMU. Though CMU would end the half on a 9-0 scoring run, it went into halftime down 35-20.
The Chippewas then scored again to cut the lead to 13 but that was as close as they could get, as Akron then poured on the scoring and build its lead to 28 points with two minutes to play.
CMU ended the game on a 5-0 run that made the final score 68-47. Leading the way offensively was sophomore guard Aidan Rubio who had 12 points off the bench. Rubio had the most three pointers in the game with three made.
Akron’s senior forward Enrique Freeman added to his great season as he had a game high 17 points and 15 rebounds. Freeman currently leads the NCAA in the rebound category with 12.9 per game.
For, CMU it will now travel to Norfolk, Virginia to face off with Old Dominion in the MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday at 2 p.m.
