Men's basketball ends losing streak in 15-point comeback


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Senior guard Josh Kozinski prepares to pass the ball during the basketball game against Tennessee Tech on Dec. 9 at McGuirk Arena. 

Led by senior guard Josh Kozinski's 3-pointers, the Chippewas (13-6, 2-4 Mid-American Conference) competed a 15-point comeback to earn a 84-75 victory over Bowling Green (12-7, 3-3) at the Stroh Center on Jan. 20.

Head coach Keno Davis said it was a game that Kozinski desperately needed.

“In the second half we were running plays around Josh Kozinski which is something we haven't done much this year,” Davis said. “He’s been getting frustrated but when he’s such a great 3-point shooter we kind of figured his nagging injury was throwing him off."

The win moved the Chippewas to 2-4 in road games. This is their second MAC win in the last 13 conference games dating back to last season.

Kozinski started the scoring by hitting a 3-pointer to pull the Chippewas close to the Falcons with just over 10 minutes to play in the half.

The Chippewas turned ball over eight times in the first 12 minutes, helping keep BGSU in the lead at 18-15 with 7:50 left.

The Falcons took the lead before halftime with three 3-pointers to give BGSU a 37-34 lead heading into the locker room.

BGSU shot 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc while the Chippewas were at 25 percent (3-of-12) from deep, leading to the biggest factor in BGSU’s lead.

Senior forward Luke Meyer and DiLeo were tied with eight points each at the half. Sophomore guard Rodrick Caldwell and freshman forward Derek Koch led the Falcons with 11 points.

The Chippewas went cold after halftime when the Falcons went on a 9-2 run to start the second half. 

Junior forward Demajeo Wiggins got an and-one bucket to extend BGSU’s advantage to 56-41 with just over 15 minutes left in regulation time.

But, Kozinski hit his third 3-pointer of the game to pull CMU back within seven points with under 10 minutes to play.The Chippewas kept coming. 

Led by transfer guard Shawn Roundtree and Kozinski's four 3-pointers, the Chippewas regained the lead at 72-70 and forced a BGSU timeout with just under five minutes to play.

At one point in the second half, CMU was shooting 8-of-12 from 3-point range.

Sophomore guard Kevin McKay stole two possessions in the closing minutes that helped secure the win.

“Even with the losing streak we’ve had, we’ve been pretty resilient,” Davis said. “Today, it finally payed off and we did a good job making some plays and coming back by staying true to the game plan. It payed off.”  

Roundtree led the Chippewas 19 points, scoring 17 in the second half and also made a pair of 3-pointers during CMU’s comeback. Meyer, who fouled out in the closing minute, scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting while McKay also tallied 16 points off the bench.

Davis said the losing streak made the team better.

“Just because we win a game doesn't mean we are the best team in the league,” Davis said. “We are just trying to get better and if we can keep improving there is no way we can’t be a really good team by March.”

Game notes

  • 84 is the most points CMU has totaled in a conference game this season.
  • BGSU led the game for more than 30 minutes, CMU led for just 8:16.
  • Even in a winning effort, CMU has yet to hold a MAC opponent to under 70 points in a game.
  • CMU shot 44 percent (11-of-25) from beyond the arc, its highest 3-point shooting percentage of MAC play.

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