Men's basketball drops third-straight MAC game in overtime loss to Ball State


After Braylon Rayson forced overtime with 18.9 seconds left to play, the Central Michigan basketball team fell to Ball State in overtime109-100 fighting for first place in the Mid-American Conference West division. 

"It's a tough one," Rayson said. "If we win this game, we are back at the top of the MAC West."

It was CMU's third-straight loss, and second-straight loss at McGuirk Arena. The Chippewas dropped to 16-11 on the season and 6-8 in MAC play. 

"I don't lose any confidence in our team and how successful we can be on a given night," said head coach Keno Davis. "We are going to try and prepare ourselves for the stretch run and hopefully a long run in March."

Rayson hit a step back 3-pointer with 18.9 seconds which sent the CMU fans into a frenzy. Ball State missed a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired. 

Marcus Keene said Central Michigan has lost the last three games because the team couldn't get stops on defense late in games. Ball State shot 2-of-7 from the field in OT, but also went 14-16 from the free-throw-line.

"You could say that we ran out of gas," Rayson said. "My legs started to get a little tired and fatigued. I played 45 minutes and that is a long time to be on the floor."

Ball State had seven players who scored in double digits. They were led by sophomore guard Tayler Persons, who had 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting in 35 minutes.

CMU guards Rayson and Keene combined for 74 points, but couldn't get any shots to fall at the end of the game. Keene had 40 points on 14-of-36 shooting with six made three-pointers. Rayson went 9-of-23 shooting with 34 points. Rayson also hit 10-of-12 of his free-throws. 

"I thought we were getting good looks and the guys that made the shots in the stretch were the guys that we wanted with the ball," Davis said. "I credit our guys for having a focus throughout the game."

Other than Keene and Rayson, CMU had one other player who scored in double digits. Junior forward Cecil Williams had 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

CMU has four games left in the regular season.

"I feel like every game from here on is a must win to get ready for Cleveland," Rayson said. 

CMU takes on Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at McGuirk Arena. 

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