Rapid Reaction: Ball State 109, CMU 100
After losing back-to-back games to Miami (Oh.) and Buffalo, the Central Michigan men's basketball team hosted Ball State Saturday afternoon with a chance to get back into first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
Trailing by 11 points with seven minutes left, the Chippewas gradually cut into the Cardinals' lead thanks to 32-second half points by junior Marcus Keen. CMU got the lead down to three with 18 seconds remaining when Senior Braylon Rayson knocked down a corner 3-pointer to tie the game and send it to over time.
Both teams traded buckets back-in-forth early in the extra period, but he Chippewa offense just couldn't find enough down the stretch. A turnover by Rayson with 52 seconds remaining sent Ball State to the free-throw line the rest of the way where they put the game away and won 109-100.
The Chippewas fall to 16-11 and 6-7 in MAC play. They have lost three in a row.
Keene finished with 40 points after only scoring 12 in the first half. The nation's leading shot 14-of-33 to notch his sixth 40-point games this season -- the most of any D-1 player in 20 seasons.
Rayson finished with 34 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the floor and added six rebounds. The team's next highest scorer was junior Cecil Williams with 15 points. Williams added nine rebounds.
What's Next
CMU returns to McGuirk on Tuesday to play Northern Illinois. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
