Chippewas improve to 3-0 with dominating win over Marygrove
Following an 86-74 win Monday at Tennessee Tech, the Central Michigan men’s basketball team returned to McGuirk Arena Thursday night to take on Marygrove College out of Detroit.
After a sluggish first half in which the Chippewas shot 3-for-24 from 3-point range, the team pulled away in the second half to defeat the Mustangs 107-58.
CMU (3-0) stepped up its defensive pressure in the second half and created 17 Mustang turnovers. The defensive charge led to several fast breaks for the Chippewas, who outscored Marygrove 67-25 after halftime.
“They had a good game plan coming in where they packed the lane and weren’t going to let us make it to the free throw line or finish at the rim,” said head coach Keno Davis. “We feel like we are at a point where we can still win even if we don’t shoot well. Our guys have confidence to know what the high percentage shots are and know when to take them.”
Redshirt junior Marcus Keene led all players with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He did, however, leave the game with 10 minutes left in the second half after a Mustang defender ran into him on the baseline. Keene limped to the locker room and appeared to favor one of his ankles.
Davis said Keene probably could have returned, but kept him out as a precaution.
“I try and stay away from the trainer, but with the game at hand you want to make sure you’re cautious,” Davis said. “I’m sure he will be sore tomorrow and hopefully we can get a good medical report and it won’t be anything that will keep him out of action.”
Freshman Kevin McKay helped spark the second-half run with his toughness on both sides of the court. The 6-foot-4 Warren native finished with a career-high 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“Coach always tells me ‘you got to go in and bring the energy.' When I go in, I know I’m not the (main) guy,” McKay said. “I’m more of an energy guy. I just go in and try to play defense and rebound. If I get a couple steals, I try and bring them the other way.”
Freshamn David DiLeo provided a similar effort during Monday’s win at Tennesse Tech, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Davis said the play of their freshmen and bench overall will be crucial all season.
“For us to be successful this year, it’s going to be because of our depth,” Davis said. “There’s not a whole lot of difference between our starting five and second five. To be able to have ten (players) deep is something we were never able to have the last couple years.”
Senior Braylon Rayson finished with 22 points, shooting 9-for-22 from the field and 4-of-12 on 3-pointers.
CMU held Marygrove (1-7) to 34 percent shooting and outrebounded the Mustangs 59-42. The Chippewas also had 32 second-chance points compared to the Mustang's six.
Central Michigan travels to Texas for the Lone Star Showcase where the team will play three games in three days. CMU begins the showcase against Pepperdine on Monday at 8:30 p.m.
