Men's basketball falls at Kent State, 116-106 in first round of MAC Tournament


Season likely over for the Chippewas


Marcus Keene and Braylon Rayson combined for 73 points, the Chippewas held a commanding first-half lead, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.

The Central Michigan men’s basketball season likely came to an end Monday night as CMU fell 116-106 in overtime at Kent State in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. 

Though unlikely, the Chippewas could still receive an invitation to a lesser postseason tournament. 

The No. 11 seed Chippewas (16-16, 6-12 MAC) finished the season with eight-straight losses, while the No. 6 seed Golden Flashes (19-13, 10-8) move on to the quarterfinal round at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

Going out Shooting

Keene scored a game-high 41 points as he notched his seventh 40-point game of the season. The transfer from Youngstown State had 22 in the first half, but only nine in the second. The nation’s leading scorer however came alive in the extra session with 10 points on three 3-pointers and a free throw.

The San Antonio, Texas native, shot 15-of-31 from the field and 9-of-16 from the 3-point line.

Keene's 41 points pushed his season average up to 29.96875, just short of the heralded 30 mark. But, the NCAA officially ruled to bump it up to 30 making him the first D-1 player since Long Island's Charles Jones in 1996-97 to average 30 points for an entire season. 

Rayson added 32 points on 9-of-19 shooting and 5-of-10 on 3-pointers. The nation’s top scoring duo went over 70 points for the third time this season.

Rayson likely played his final career game Monday as he is set to graduate in May, but Keene still has another year of eligibility after sitting out last season due to transfer regulations.

However, Davis hinted postgame on 98.5 UPS that both players could have played their final game in a CMU uniform.

“We’re not going to be able to replace the scoring of Rayson and Keene and our team is going to look a lot different next year," Davis said. "That doesn’t mean we can’t look better, but we’re going to look different. At times we are going to miss the scoring out-put of those guys and they were definitely electric to watch and we are going to miss those guys.

“I know they made their impact on CMU and we will see what their final one is in years to come.”

First Round Exit

Central Michigan jumped out to a commanding 26-9 lead in the first half, but Kent State responded to cut deficit down to two points before freshman David DiLeo hit a couple 3-pointers. Keene hit a running 30-foot 3-pointer as time expired to give CMU a 53-40 halftime lead.

The Chippewas’ offense stalled to begin the second half and KSU’s Jimmy Hall took over. The First Team All-MAC forward got the Golden Flashes their first lead after an and-1 with 10 minutes remaining. Hall was too much for the CMU frontcourt and finished with a team-high 34 points on 14-of-24 shooting.

When Hall started to draw a double-team, Jaylin Walker torched the Chippewas from the perimeter with five 3-pointers in the second half on 9-of-23 shooting overall.

Davis said he planned on Hall turning the ball over with the extra defender, but the big man hurt them with his passing ability.

“I think our guys coming over and trapping was out of necessity because we just can’t play a great player like Hall one-on-one,” Davis said. “That’s why he’s an all-conference performer and why he’s going to make some money (playing) the game.”

Hall and Walker combined for 27 rebounds as the Golden Flashes dominated the glass (47-31) and had 18 on the offensive end.

With the Golden Flashes urging to pull away, the CMU offense suddenly woke up mid-way through the second half. Both team’s furiously traded baskets the rest of the way with KSU holding a slight lead.

Trailing by three points with 40 second remaining, Rayson hit a 3-pointer to tie the game and the Chippewas got the defensive stop. DiLeo had a chance to win the game and be the hero at the buzzer, but the shot rimmed out.

In overtime, it was KSU’s Jaylen Avery who stole the show and hit three 3-pointers to help the Golden Flashes pull away. His 3-pointer with 1:29 forced CMU to foul the rest of the way and Kent State broke the record for most points in a MAC Tournament game.

Disappointing Finish

Before the losing streak began, the Chippewas were arguably playing their best basketball of the season and were tied for first in the MAC West Division at 6-5 in conference play. Now, Davis and his team must go back to the drawing board for next season. 

“It’s unfortunate the season ended the way that it did, but at least we had an opportunity to play on the road,” he said. “We knew that if we got to Cleveland we had a great shot. I give our guys credit to play as hard as they did and just disappointed they didn’t get a chance to continue the tournament run.” 

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