Rapid Reaction: Central Michigan 88, Kent State 61
On Harry Potter night at McGuirk Arena, the magic seemed to be with the Central Michigan men's basketball team.
CMU had all of five of its starters score in double figures en route to a 88-61 win over Kent State on Tuesday. The Chippewas have now won four consecutive games.
CMU (13-9, 6-3 Mid-American Conference) remains in first place in the MAC West Division.
Simons ties the record
Senior forward John Simons tied the record for most 3-pointers made in school history.
With 12 minutes to play, Simons hit a 3-pointer to tie Robbie Harman's record of 233 made threes. He exited the game with 1:21 left.
Simons finished with 12 points and was 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
Blowing whistles and screaming fans
The referees made a lot of noise with their whistles and, subsequently, so did the fans.
In the first half, the two teams combined for 21 personal fouls, including 10 by the Chippewas. However, Kent State made 10-of-13 free throws in the first half compared to only 2-of-4 for CMU. Simons had three first-half fouls.
The crowd made its presence known with 13:47 left in the first half. Chris Fowler threw a ball going out-of-bounds off a Kent State player, but the referee said Kent State maintained possession. This led to anger from the fans and Head Coach Keno Davis.
Fowler-to-Meyer connection
Senior guard Chris Fowler and sophomore forward Luke Meyer demonstrated their ability to work the pick-and-roll, Tuesday.
The Chippewas opened the game with a dunk by Meyer off the pick-and-roll from Fowler. With 11:12 left in the first half, Fowler connected with Meyer again for a dunk to extend CMU's lead to 19-11. The two would pair up again under the basket with less than 14 minutes left in the second half.
Rayson leaves with injury
With 5:54 left in the game, junior guard Braylon Rayson fell to center court as the Golden Flashes pushed the ball.
Rayson left the game holding his left knee. He headed to the locker room a minute later but did return.
The Dallas native finished the game with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the floor.
What's next
The Chippewas will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Akron on Friday at 8 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday Feb. 6. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
The Zips are tied for first with the Golden Flashes in the MAC East. CMU defeated Akron 92-81 at home on Jan. 12. Former CMU coach Keith Dambrot has coached Akron to a 17-4 (6-2 MAC) record.
