Coming into its three-game homestand, the CMU men’s basketball team was perfect at Rose Arena.

CMU entered the stretch 3-0 at home in Mid-American Conference play. Lately, that success has disappeared.

The team’s 56-52 loss against Akron on Tuesday at Rose Arena was its second consecutive at home, ending the home stretch at 1-2. Its lone home win came against Buffalo, which came into the game losing four of its past five.

CMU’s other loss came against MAC-leading Kent State on Saturday.

But more than the losses, how the team lost the two games has been a point of concern. In its loss to Kent State, CMU led by nine points with about 10 minutes remaining in the second half. But the Golden Flashes went on a 13-0 run and pulled away.

On Tuesday, it was much of the same. CMU led by as many as 11 late in the second half before faltering again. The Zips closed the game on a 8-0 run and the Chippewas shot just 28.6 percent for the game.

“We just self destructed down at the end,” said senior guard Jordan Bitzer. “Couldn’t get any stops. … They hit shots. We self destructed.”

With the loss, CMU (11-11, 6-4 MAC) is tied with Ball State (12-10, 6-4 MAC) for the lead in the MAC West.

Athens bound

CMU’s loss of the outright lead in the division makes Thursday’s game against Ohio, the final against MAC East teams, even more important now.

Ball State plays Wednesday at Kent State. While the Golden Flashes are leading the MAC and defeated CMU at home, there is no guarantee they will beat Ball State. The Cardinals are 4-1 against MAC East teams this year.

CMU needs to win Thursday to guarantee at least a share of the lead in the division. The team probably will have to win five of its final six MAC games to win the division outright.

The importance of winning the MAC West will mean more than just a banner this season, too. The top four seeds in the MAC get a bye in the first round of the conference tournament and, the way things are shaking out, only one MAC West school will receive one.

Kent State (8-2), Akron (7-3) and Miami (7-3) are the top three teams in the conference right now, leaving one spot for a bye.

While the Chippewas’ past two losses have been hard to take, they still control their own destiny for the rest of the season and can’t allow the setbacks to end their season prematurely.

“Every game from here on out is a must-win now,” said senior guard Robbie Harman. “We screwed ourselves with these last two games. Could have won, had some room to work with. But we got to take care of business on the road and at home now.”

E-mail the author: Tim Ottusch