Men's basketball still searching for first MAC win
Keno Davis has said all season it takes a different player to step up each game to be successful.
In the Central Michigan men’s basketball team’s first 13 games, the head basketball coach was getting just that.
Junior guard Marcus Keene and senior guard Braylon Rayson combined for 60 points on Tuesday in an 89-85 loss to Akron. The next-highest Chippewa scorer was Luke Meyer with only seven points.
In the second game of the year, freshman forward David DiLeo came off the bench and scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had four steals in a road win at Tennessee Tech.
Senior Josh Kozinski led the team to a close win over Chicago State on Dec. 30 with 20 points.
Junior forward Cecil Williams and freshman forward Kevin McKay have had their moments this season and helped the team to victory in big games.
However, since Mid-American Conference play started Jan. 3, the Chippewas haven’t had a consistent scoring option outside of junior point guard Marcus Keene — who leads the nation with 29.3 points per game — and senior shooting guard Braylon Rayson (18.7).
The top-scoring duo in the country have led the team all season, but had teammates step up when needed earlier.
The Zips, on the other hand, had four players score in double digits. Unlike CMU, Akron appeared to have a different player step up when one guy would go cold.
Davis said Keene and Rayson have played so well that it is difficult to take the ball out of their hands, but he believes his team has that third option in terms of scoring.
“I think we have it. I think we found it. It’s just right now, Keene and Rayson are playing at such a high level that their shots are sometimes better than the next,” Davis said. “DiLeo has been scoring for us, Cecil is a guy that can score for us. There’s a variety of guys that can help. As most teams are narrowing their rotation, we are looking to expand ours.”
Lack of Size
Another problem that appears to be hindering the Chippewas is a lack of size in the front court.
Meyer (6-foot-10, 220 pounds) and forward DaRohn Scott (6-foot-9, 230) are both tall, but don’t have the body size as many other big men in the MAC.
The two were particularly at a disadvantage on Tuesday against Akron’s center Isaiah Johnson (6-foot-10, 290).
Johnson used his size and appeared to get whatever he wanted around the hoop on his way to a 33-point, nine-rebound performance.
“Luke and DaRohn are getting much better, but you see that player and the impact he has on the team,” Davis said. “Luke and DaRohn are only going to get better as players and learn from this game.”
Toledo
The Chippewas will attempt to end their conference slide at 7 p.m. Friday when they host Toledo at McGurik Arena.
The Rockets come in at 9-7 and 2-1 in MAC play. The Rockets lost to Western Michigan 90-74 Tuesday.
Toledo is led by guard Johnathon Williams, second in the MAC in scoring at 20.5 points per game. UT also has high scorers in Steve Taylor Jr. (15) and Jaelan Sanford (13.6).
“We got to play hard and focus on the task,” Rayson said. “We have to play 40 minutes. That’s all we are thinking about right now.”
