Men's basketball pulls down 72 rebounds in season-opening win
CMU hits century mark for first time in two seasons in 117-53 victory
Braylon Rayson and Marcus Keene have averaged double figures in points throughout their college careers, but with both standing 5-foot-9, rebounds may seem hard to come by.
In the Central Michigan men's basketball season opener on Friday, the duo showed they can corral the boards.
Rayson and Keene each had seven rebounds by halftime and finished with 10 each as the Chippewas defeated Indiana-Kokomo 117-53 at McGuirk Arena.
CMU (1-0) scored in triple digits for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
Keene, a junior guard and Youngstown State transfer, scored 32 points, the same total he had in an exhibition win over Slippery Rock on Nov. 5.
Rayson chipped in with 17 points, one of six Chippewas to score in double figures. Keene, Rayson and junior forward Cecil Williams each recorded double-doubles.
After not recording a rebound in the win over Slippery Rock, Keene's 10 boards helped the Chippewas outrebound the Cougars 72-32. Junior forwards Luke Meyer and DaRohn Scott only accounted for nine of CMU's 72 rebounds.
“I just tried to help the bigs out," Keene said. "They always get on us about (not rebounding as guards). I had (seven) by the half.”
Rayson scored the first six points of the game on two 3-pointers in a span of 45 seconds, but the Cougars came back. IU-Kokomo took a 15-14 lead six minutes into the game, with 12 of the 15 points coming from Trent Elliott.
After a 3-pointer by Elliott gave the Cougars the lead, CMU head coach Keno Davis called a timeout to talk to his team.
Following the timeout, Elliott was held to seven points to finish with 19.
“We were throwing everything at (Elliot)," Davis said. "He was at the top of our scout list. We weren’t trying to allow him to get those open shots. He’s just an exceptional player. Our depth kind of wore them out a little bit and is probably unlike what they’ll see the rest of the year.”
CMU never trailed again following the timeout. With four seconds left in the first half, Keene sank a 3-pointer to give the Chippewas a 59-32 lead going into the break.
“It was a good confidence booster for us," Keene said. "(Kokomo) did play hard. They came with us early but I think we just wore them down.”
The Chippewas' depth came alive in the second half, as 12 players who dressed saw the court.
“For us to be good through the year, we’re going to have to live with some growing pains," Davis said. "We can’t just play our veteran players. We’re going to have to give guys some experience – not just in games that stretch out but in games which are tight."
“If he can rebound like that, he’s going to be playing a lot more," Davis said. "That’s why we recruited him. He’s a guy that can be a great defender, be a great rebounder and he can get to the basket and he can score as well.”
Williams, who started his first regular season game at CMU, tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds, including 14-of-17 from the free throw line.
“I don’t know if you’ll see 17 free throws (a game) but he’s got that dimension that we haven’t seen the last four years – a big guard that can shoot from the three, can rebound, can drive, can defend," Davis said. "If he can continue to improve his game, you’re looking at a guy who could be playing basketball for a while after Central Michigan.”
While CMU shot 44 percent from the floor on Friday, Rayson said being able to consistently rebound will be important as the season gets rolling.
“We rebounded well," Rayson said. "That was one of our weaknesses coming into the season – that we need to play defense and rebound. Looking at the stat sheet, we’ve got four guys with double (figures) in rebounding.”
The Chippewas move on to a road matchup with Tennesee Tech at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 14.
