Men's basketball loses against first-place Kent State
The CMU men's basketball team lost the battle for Mid-American Conference supremacy Saturday night at Rose Arena.
The Chippewas lost 68-63 against Kent State in front of 3,142.
The Golden Flashes (17-7, 8-2 MAC) came into the game a half game ahead of CMU (11-10, 6-3 MAC) in the MAC standings.
"You had two really good teams battle here," said CMU coach Ernie Zeigler.
The turning point in the game came with less than 13 minutes remaining. With CMU leading by nine, KSU called a timeout and regrouped.
The Golden Flashes came out with a 13-0 run, taking the lead. CMU came back to lead by one, but KSU responded with a 6-0 run.
Kent State shot 58.1 percent, including 68.2 in the second half. The second-half shooting helped the Golden Flashes overcome a 31-28 first-half deficit.
"I think they were able to establish themselves in the second half, particularly offensively," Zeigler said. "We just really struggled to guard and get stops."
Senior guard Jordan Bitzer led CMU with 19 points. Junior forward Jalin Thomas scored 12 and junior guard Antonio Weary had 10, despite battling in foul trouble most of the game.
Forward Justin Green led the Golden Flashes with 22 points while guards Chris Singletary and Rodriguez Sherman each finished in double figures, scoring 19 and 13 points, respectively.
KSU outscored CMU in the paint 32-24.
CMU, however, still maintains a half game lead atop Ball State (12-10, 6-4 MAC), which lost against Akron in overtime Saturday in Muncie, Ind.
The loss snapped the Chippewas seven-game home winning streak and was its first home loss in MAC play.
The Chippewas host Akron at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Rose Arena.
Check Monday's edition for expanded coverage.
