Keene’s historic performance leads CMU to second MAC win
After head coach Keno Davis was ejected from the game for his second technical foul, the Central Michigan men's basketball team appeared to be in trouble on Saturday against Miami (Ohio) with 13:22 remaining.
That was until the nation’s leading scorer took over.
Marcus Keene, who had only 11 points in the first half, returned from the bench with three fouls and a renewed mind set.
“I just stayed composed and confident. When I got back in, I just kept going,” Keene said.
MVP chants echoed through McGuirk Arena as the 2,708 fans in attendance watched the top-scoring performance of the season.
Keene scored 26 straight points over a seven-minute span and proceeded to drop a career-high 50 points in the game to lead CMU to a 101-92 win over the RedHawks.
“This was big for us and the team," Keene said. "To score 50 points in a college basketball game — that’s any players dream. I accomplished that (dream) and it feels good. I was just hot today and my teammates found me.”
The 5-foot-9 junior guard finished 15-of-23 shooting and 10-of-15 on 3-pointers. It was the first 50-point Division I scoring performance since 2013, according to ESPN. It was also a McGuirk Arena record and the second highest scoring game in CMU history.
Davis was ejected early in the second half after he argued a controversial foul call on Keene. Davis said he could hear the cheers from the locker room and was proud of how his team handled the adversity.
“It makes you incredibly proud. It’s what you hope happens,” he said. “When you face some adversity, you either come together or you split apart, and obviously we came together in that situation.”
Junior forward DaRohn Scott was key on the defensive end Saturday with four blocks. Keene said the sky is the limit for the Chippewas when they get that kind of "output from their big man."
“(Scott) was locked in at pre game and he was locked in at practice,” Keene said. “He worked hard on the defensive end so we rewarded him on the offensive end.”
The Chippewas now sit at 12-7 and 2-4 in the Mid-American Conference.
CMU will host Bowling Green (8-11, 2-4) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The Chippewas defeated BGSU in both meetings during the regular season last year, but fell to the Falcons in the MAC Tournament.
