Men's basketball upsets Toledo in MAC opener
Junior point guard Chris Fowler reads the Toledo University defense during the Central Michigan University men's basketball team's 65-62 victory over the Rockets on Tuesday night. (Photo by Taylor DesOrmeau)
The 3-pointers were falling for the Rockets, not the Chippewas in Tuesday’s Mid-American Conference opener.
But then came the final two minutes of the game.
Tied at 62 with 1:08 to play, CMU junior point guard Chris Fowler found John Simons open in the corner, who buried the game-winning basket to quiet the Rocket crowd.
“I saw John and I just had to find a way to get it to him,” Fowler said. “I didn’t get it to him at first because their hands were in the way. So I had to create the angle to get it to him and he made a big shot.”
The Rockets came down the court twice in the final minute looking for a triple of their own and another late-game tie, but Toledo missed both chances.
“I messed up bad on that one,” said CMU freshman forward Luke Meyer. “I was supposed to hard-hedge on the screen on that last one and I didn’t end up doing it. Juice (Brown) doesn’t miss too many shots, but he missed that one. I’m thankful for that.”
While Meyer’s last-minute mistake might have gone unpunished, his first-minute breakaway dunk terrific. After a Rocket miss, Fowler drove down the court and found Meyer to put CMU's first points of the game on the board.
The two teams battled it out during a game that featured 12 lead changes. The score was tied for eight minutes and eleven seconds of play clock.
“It was our guys just trying to find a way to score any way they could,” said Head Coach Keno Davis. “If they’d have sluffed off our shooters, Chris Fowler, Rayshawn Simmons those guys are pass first guys, so to see them continue to pound the ball to the basket is because that’s what Toledo made us do.”
An 8-1 run propelled the Rockets to a 60-55 lead with 3:43 left in the game.
Fowler and Simmons combined for seven Chippewa points in a row to set up the Simons 3-pointer.
“They had to just keep their confidence that they were going to knock down some,” said Head Coach Keno Davis. “I don’t know if there’s a player that I’d want to have that ball more for a 3-point shot than John Simons.”
The win moves the Chippewas to 11-1 on the season and 1-0 in MAC competition. It is the program's best start since beginning 14-1 in 1969-1970.
CMU will play Ball State at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in Muncie, Ind.
