Men's basketball wins third straight, can clinch share of MAC West Friday
Chris Fowler was guaranteed one more road trip in his Central Michigan men's basketball career. He made the most of it.
The senior guard scored the first seven points of the second half and 20 overall as the Chippewas downed Ball State 65-57 Tuesday. It was their first win in Muncie, Indiana since 2003.
(MORE: CMU can earn first-round bye with win Friday)
CMU has won three consecutive games, all against teams it lost to earlier in the season. The Chippewas are 17-13 (10-7 in the Mid-American Conference) with one game remaining.
If CMU gets a win Friday night against Western Michigan, they will clinch a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division for the second consecutive season.
The Chippewas and the Cardinals (20-10, 10-7 MAC) are tied for first place in the MAC West Division.
Poor shooting
CMU and Ball State both shot 36 percent from the floor, but the Cardinals committed 12 turnovers compared to only three by CMU.
“One of the recipes for us in the last couple of years is to not turn that ball over," said Head Coach Keno Davis. "To only have three turnovers in a game that physical is a credit to the work that these guys have put in on their ball skills and being able to play with contact also.”
CMU led by two at halftime, but outscored the Cardinals 37-31 in the second half.
The Chippewas led 57-44 with 5:14 left but Ball State used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to six with 2:01 left.
Three seconds later, sophomore forward DaRohn Scott grabbed an offensive rebound and made a layup in the paint to extend the lead to eight. Scott scored the game-winner on Saturday at Toledo.
Relying on the upperclassmen guards
Junior guard Braylon Rayson poured in 18 points and Fowler scored 20 points for the second straight game.
“I’ve been dreading that day where I don’t have that guy on the court to be able to make the right decisions, the right play," Davis said. "(He’s) just a truly special player. It’s nice to have him not only in this conference but to have him at Central Michigan.”
Franko House dropped 23 points for the Cardinals, who won the team's first matchup 75-63 on Feb. 13 in Mt. Pleasant. Davis said Ball State has done a good job of building its program and added they have a good mix of shooters and post players.
“You've kind of got to pick your poison sometimes," Davis said. "I felt like we didn’t get disrupted by some of the mismatches we had the first time.”
The Cardinals outrebounded CMU 40-38 but CMU controlled the offensive glass 10-6. Sophomore Luke Meyer grabbed nine rebounds and has combined for 17 points and 15 boards in the last two games.
"I just started going out and playing as hard as I can," Meyer said. "I know if I do that, I don't think there is anyone in the country that can stop me, that's my mentality."
Fowler and Rayson combined for 38 points and combined for 22 of CMU's 28 points in the first half.
"It's just something that we do," Rayson said. "We talk about it. When I hit shots, he knows how to give me the ball. When he hits shots, I know how to give him the ball."
Fowler said he is 100 percent after missing the first seven games of the season due to injury. He leads the team with 16.5 points per game.
"It helps that all these guys were patient with me, they picked me up, had my back when I wasn't 100 percent on my timing," Fowler said.
The Chippewas will host the Broncos (12-18, 6-11 MAC) at 7 p.m. Friday.
“Our team is worth supporting, but it’s obviously even a little more special when you’re playing the team from Kalamazoo," Davis said. "I hope our fans come out. We need you there. It should be a great contest for our fans.”
Senior players and managers will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Friday, according to Davis. Fowler said it should be a "fun" night.
"Friday is our championship game," he said. "We're not going into Friday worried about a MAC Tournament seed, we're going into Friday worried about Western Michigan."
