Friday Top 5: Best men's basketball performances up to now
The 2015-16 season for the Central Michigan men's basketball team is winding down.
The Chippewas have five games remaining before the Mid-American Conference Tournament March 7-12, which will decide who advances to the NCAA Tournament.
CMU (14-12, 7-6 MAC) sits in a three-way tie along with Northern Illinois and Toledo for second place in the MAC West Division, trailing first-place Ball State. The Chippewas will take on Western Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday in Kalamazoo.
Here are five of the most breakout performances and highlights from this season.
5. Sophomore guard Josh Kozinski vs. Kent State, Feb. 2
As senior forward John Simons tied Robbie Harman for the all-time record for career 3-pointers in school history, Kozinski — another 3-point shooter — stole the spotlight.
Kozinski scored a team-high 17 points off the bench as the Chippewas downed the Golden Flashes 88-61 in front of 2,132 on a Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena.
He shot 5-of-7 from three and also pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Kozinski contributed a steal and was the only Chippewa perfect from the free-throw line (2-of-2).
4. Senior guard Rayshawn Simmons vs. Ball State, Feb. 13
The Chippewas fell to the Cardinals 75-63 to fall out of first place in the MAC West Division, but Simmons had a strong showing.
The St. Louis, Missouri native scored a team-high 22 points in the loss. It was Simmons' second-best scoring night of the season, behind the 30 points he scored against Jacksonville State in November.
Simmons also chipped in four assists and was 9-of-22 from the field.
3. Junior guard Braylon Rayson vs. Toledo, Feb. 16
Rayson hit his first shot of the game against the Rockets. He would hit several more.
The Dallas native, donning a rare pair of black sneakers, scored 26 points and knocked down seven 3-pointers as the Chippewas knocked off the Rockets 77-69 to move up a game in the MAC West Division.
Rayson, standing 5-foot-9, pulled down a team-high nine rebounds against a Rockets team that features 6-foot-9 center Nathan Boothe. Rayson also led CMU with two steals.
2. Senior guard Chris Fowler vs Bowling Green, Jan. 30
Fowler's 2015-16 season — up until the home matchup with the Falcons — was riddled with an injury and patience in getting back to 100 percent. On Jan. 30, fans finally saw "vintage Chris Fowler."
He used alley-oops to sophomore forward Luke Meyer. He continued to drive to the lane against three defenders. He also featured a jump shot.
By the time the clock hit zero, Fowler had a season-high 27 points and had team highs in assists (5) and steals (3) as the Chippewas swept the season series against the Falcons 77-65.
In the 2014-15 season, Fowler had a career-high 42 points in an overtime loss against Bowling Green on Feb. 4, 2015.
1. Rayson at Bowling Green, Jan. 9
Fowler's performance against the Falcons was a replication of Rayson in an earlier meeting this season with the Falcons.
In CMU's first MAC road game of the season, Rayson had a season-high 27 points in a 79-67 win. He finished 9-of-13 from the floor and was 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
Rayson played after learning earlier in the day his grandmother had passed away. He dedicated his performance to her on Twitter.
