Little Rock stuffs men's basketball to close out Lone Star Showcase
On the eve of Thanksgiving, the Central Michigan men's basketball team gave up a 10-0 run to prevent its comeback against Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Chippewas trailed 81-79 to Arkansas-Little Rock with 2:06 remaining in the game before the Trojans mashed the Chippewas offensively. Little Rock beat CMU 91-79 Wednesday night to wrap up the Lone Star Showcase at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas.
CMU has now lost two straight after starting its season 4-0. After defeating Pepperdine on Monday and losing by 31 points to St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, the Chippewas depart Texas after a 1-2 record in the Lone Star Showcase.
“We know we have to get better. We know we have to improve, but we knew that going into the game," said Head Coach Keno Davis. "With so many young guys, we knew we were going to take some lumps early in the season but for us, it’s about how we’re going to be able to finish, how we’re going to be able to improve and how we’re going to be able to work during the season.”
Junior guard Marcus Keene totaled 32 points in the loss - which was CMU's first defeat when Keene scores at least 30 points. Freshman forward David DiLeo added 11 points, while senior guard Braylon Rayson tallied nine.
“We have a long way to improve in all areas – offensively, defensively and rebounding," Davis said. "There’s only positives in that. I think we’re just scratching the surface. When you’ve got freshman guys doing it, when you have first-year guys doing it that are the majority of the team, you don’t expect on day one, week one or month one to be in mid-season form or be in the form that you’re going to be at the end of the year.”
CMU led 45-42 at halftime but squandered its lead in the second half. After a free throw from senior forward Blake Hibbitts tied the game at 57-57, Little Rock went on a 13-2 run to force a CMU timeout with 8:46 left in the game with the Trojans up 70-59.
The Chippewas went on a 7-2 run after a tip-in from junior forward Luke Meyer cut the deficit to five, 72-67. After a Little Rock 3-pointer and layup from junior forward Cecil Williams, CMU cut the deficit to four after a pair of Keene free throws made it a 75-71 contest.
Little Rock padded its lead to eight, 79-71, but DiLeo knocked down a 3-pointer to again make it a five-point game, 79-74, with 3:02 remaining.
After a Little Rock bucket, DiLeo came through with another 3-pointer, and Keene made two free throws to make it a one-possession game, 81-79, with 2:06 left.
The Chippewas failed to score in the game's final minutes. After back-to-back jumpers from Little Rock's Marcus Johnson Jr., Little Rock went on a 10-0 run to end the contest.
CMU shot 35 percent from the field compared to the Trojans' 66 percent. Davis said he was pleased his team trailed by just two with two minutes remaining.
“I thought we were good (in the final minutes)," Davis said. "We had some calls go against us. They made tough shots, we had some open shots that didn’t (went it). I don’t think it was anything from an execution standpoint – we don’t have much room for error right now as we will when we get better as a team.”
Jalen Jackson led Little Rock with 24 points, while Kemy Osse tallied 20. Johnson and Maurius Hill added 14 points each. Little Rock and St. Bonaventure ended the showcase with 2-1 records, while CMU and Pepperdine each finished 1-2.
After competing in the Gulf Coast Showcase last season, Davis said these showcases give CMU a chance to compete against mid-major and high-major programs, some who have shots at the NCAA Tournament. Little Rock participated in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
“I feel like our guys got a lot better with the experience," Davis said.
The Chippewas will depart for Green Bay where they will face Wisconsin-Green Bay, another 2016 NCAA Tournament team, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26. Davis said his team will have a Thanksgiving team dinner in Green Bay on Thursday night.
