Rapid Reaction: Central Michigan 92, Akron 81
Junior guard Braylon Rayson shoots against a defender at McGuirk Arena on Tuesday, January 12, 2016.
The Mid-American Conference West and East Division favorites met up at McGuirk Arena Tuesday night, with the Chippewas pulling away from the Akron Zips in the second half for the statement victory.
Junior guard Braylon Rayson was one of four Chippewas to score 14 points or more in Central Michigan's 92-81 win, finishing with 24 points.
Akron came into the game allowing 63.8 points per game and not allowing more than 80 points in a game all season.
CMU (9-7, 2-1 MAC) travels to Akron (13-3, 2-1 MAC) for a rematch on Feb. 6.
Scoring in the paint
The Chippewas didn't rely on the 3-pointer Tuesday, hitting just 5-of-20 attempts from long range while Akron made 9-of-30.
It was the inside game that propelled the maroon in gold, as they had 48 points in the paint after having 18 in Saturday's win over BGSU.
Fowler led the charge in the paint, driving between defenders throughout the night. He finished with 20 points, six of which came from the free-throw line.
He fouled out with 31 seconds to play and was given an applause by the fans at McGuirk Arena.
Slowing down Jackson
Sophomore guard Antino Jackson came into Tuesday as Akron's leading scorer with 12 points per game, but the Chippewas kept him quiet early on.
Jackson didn't score in the first 13 minutes of the game, but was able to put five points on the board by halftime.
The Houston native went out with a lower-body injury to start the second half, but returned a few minutes later. He picked up a technical foul with 1:30 to go in the game and did not score in the second half.
Finishing the half with power
Senior guard Austin Stewart only played three minutes in the first half, but helped the Chippewas go into halftime without a deficit.
Stewart threw down a crowd-energizing alley-oop dunk as time expired on the first half, tying the game 40-40.
What's next
The Chippewas have a pair of long road trips on the schedule next, playing Buffalo (8-8, 1-2 MAC) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and the conference leaders, Northern Illinois (14-2, 3-0 MAC) at 8 p.m. Jan. 19.
CMU picked up its first road win of the season on Saturday against Bowling Green, 79-67.
