Keene posts career high 36 points as men basketball downs Pepperdine
Marcus Keene played high school basketball in San Antonio, where he made a reputation for himself as a scorer. It only makes sense he would return to Texas to score his career high in points.
The junior guard scored 22 first-half points en route to a career-high 36 as the Central Michigan men's basketball team downed Pepperdine 88-77 on Monday at the Lone Star Showcase in Cedar Park, Texas outside of Austin.
The Chippewas remain undefeated with a 4-0 record.
“I was very proud of the guys," said head coach Keno Davis. "A lot of the hustle plays in (the) second half showed not only where we are right as a program, but where we can get to because of the attitude, the energy and the effort we were able to bring tonight and fortunately come out with a win.”
Keene entered Monday's game ranked third in the NCAA in scoring. Facing Pepperdine's Lamond Murray Jr., who ranked fifth in the NCAA in scoring, Keene showed he is among the nation's elite in the category with a monumental career game.
“I didn’t really expect it, but I know I wanted to come out and be aggressive for my team," Keene said. "My shots were falling early so I just kept it up.”
Murray — who Davis said was at the top of the Chippewas' scouting report — had 25 points to lead Pepperdine offensively.
“He’s such a phenomenal player that even if you play great defense, he can still put points on the board in a hurry," Davis said. "It was a credit to our guys to not only understand the game plan, but to be able to execute it as well.”
Keene returned to the lineup after leaving Thursday's win over Marygrove College with an injury midway through the second half. After reevaluating him, Davis said Keene was ready to play against the Waves.
The Youngstown State-transfer had family on hand for Monday's game at the H-E-B Center. Recording a career record in front of his family made the moment even more special for Keene, he said.
“It means a lot because the first time I came to Texas back at Youngstown (State) I didn’t really have too much of a good game so I felt like I let them down," Keene said. "Coming back to Texas with Central Michigan I wanted to have a better performance than last time.”
Davis said Keene scored an "unselfish 36," adding seven assists. Keene said the only thing on his mind was winning.
“I don’t care if I score five, 10 or 15 points as long as we win," he said. "That’s all that matters.”
Junior guard Josh Kozinski, who made four 3-pointers heading into Monday's contest, drained two in the first half. He finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from deep.
Davis said Kozinski delivered on a night where the Chippewas "needed" him.
“I think he understands how to get his shot back," Davis said. "If he puts the time in, he was going to be able to turn that around and it was going to be a matter of time (before he would start hitting 3-pointers consistently).”
The Chippewas held on to a 43-39 lead before a Keene layup and back-to-back 3-pointers from Rayson and Kozinski gave CMU a 51-41 lead.
After another Pepperdine bucket, Kozinski knocked down his fifth three of the game as CMU led 54-43. Another 3-pointer from freshman forward David DiLeo made it a 57-43 game.
CMU built its lead to 61-43 after back-to-back layups from Rayson and Keene, forcing a Pepperdine timeout.
The Chippewas built a 21-4 run up to that timeout, elapsing five minutes off the clock.
Rayson hit-back-to-back threes to make it again an 18-point lead, 73-55, with less than nine minutes left. He finished with 20 points, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
Keene knocked down a jumper with six minutes to play to give the Chippewas a 78-62 advantage, and him 31 points.
With 4:59 remaining, Keene hit a layup to give him 33 points, a career high up to that point, and CMU had its largest lead of the game, 82-63.
Keene padded his new milestone with three more points as CMU pulled out the 11-point victory.
The Chippewas ran a 2-3 zone most of the game to limit Pepperdine on offense.
“We still haven’t found our identity or what we’re going to be about this year, but what we are doing right now is we’re finding a way to win," Davis said. "It won’t surprise me if it’s a different way each night.”
The Chippewas committed 10 turnovers as opposed to 20 from Pepperdine. CMU was also 13-of-29 from 3-point range, good for 44.8 percent.
CMU will face St. Bonaventure in game two of the Lone Star Showcase at 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday. St. Bonaventure fell to Little Rock 68-65 in Monday's first game.
Davis said St. Bonaventure is a talented Atlantic 10 Conference opponent.
“We knew coming in, having been to the postseason last year and with the opportunity of doing the same thing this year, there wasn’t an easy game," he said. "I know because of losing that close one, they’re going to be even more focused and trying to fight for a victory tomorrow."
