Chippewas handed first loss of season in first round of Gulf Coast Showcase
Rayshawn Simmons had two chances to win the game. On the first, with 15 seconds remaining in the game, the senior guard traveled and turned the ball over. The second was a missed layup with two ticks left on the clock – a miss from which the Central Michigan men's basketball team could not recover.
The Chippewas fell to Weber State 63-60 on Monday in Estero, Florida during the first round of the 2015 Gulf Coast Showcase. The loss drops CMU to 2-1 on the season.
It was the third consecutive game the Chippewas have played to open the season without senior guard Chris Fowler, who continues to miss action with an undisclosed injury.
Head Coach Keno Davis' team falls to the loser's bracket of the tournament, where it will face Western Kentucky Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
"I've never had a turnaround from 8:30 to 2:30," Davis said. "We'll get some rest and we'll come back and be limited in terms of practice. The best part of (losing) is we get to play. Players would like to get out and play. This is a good measuring stick for us."
Sophomore forward DaRohn Scott was the only Chippewa to shoot above 50 percent, Monday, something Davis noted after the game.
"Our effort was outstanding. That was definitely a bright spot," Davis said. "We all struggled shooting the ball. Maybe our shot selection wasn't good, but to have a shot to win the game says a lot about our players. We are very optimistic that this team can accomplish great things this year."
The Chippewas missed their last four shots of the game, including a 3-pointer from sophomore Josh Kozinski that would have given CMU a two-point lead.
Kozinski hit four 3-pointers during the loss. CMU led by as many as 11 during the first half and attempted 40 shots from beyond the arc, a season high. They hit 11 of the 40.
Senior forward John Simons led all Chippewa scorers with 17 points despite being called for four fouls.
A 12-0 Weber State run put the Wildcats up 40-35 early in the second half, but seven straight points by CMU gave the Chippewas a 57-52 lead with 6:21 left.
