Larry Austin Jr. ignites intensity into Central-Western rivalry after offseason transfer
For the two seasons Larry Austin Jr. took the court for Xavier, he got the bread crumbs of a rivalry when the Musketeers played Cincinnati, a game so intense that a bench-clearing brawl broke out back in 2011.
The 6-foot-2 guard also had limited experience in an SEC-based rivalry when his Vanderbilt Commodores went up against Tennessee in the 2017-18 season.
Austin did not play against Cincinnati in 2014-15 and had just four minutes against the Bearcats one season later. Battling Tennessee a year ago, he scored two points in 16 minutes.
Crumb tasting is nothing like what Austin experienced for Central Michigan on Feb. 2 at McGuirk Arena, playing in-state rival Western Michigan in front of 3,325 fans.
"Honestly, it felt great," Austin said. "The rivalry was good. Like I say all the time, it's not just me out there. I've got great teammates. Everyone has the same goals. Everyone wants to win."
Austin was called on, as he has been all season for CMU, to lead. This time, the stakes were even higher – his first-ever rivalry game as a starter.
He delivered.
In the 153rd all-time meeting between the Chippewas and Broncos, Austin scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and added 11 rebounds, five assists and one steal.
"We feed off of Larry," said CMU coach Keno Davis. "Nobody wants to win more than him. There's another gear, another level out there. Larry's getting a lot out of his ability."
CMU etched a 39-33 lead with 2:01 remaining in the first half on Austin's layup while being double teamed. He powered through 7-foot center Seth Dugan, scored and flexed his muscles in pursuit of an ensuing defensive stop.
He was locked in.
"The energy was great," Austin said of the crowd. "Our practices leading up to this game were great. We just have to keep competing."
With 10:24 remaining in the second half, Austin caught the ball on the left wing. He drove left on WMU guard William Boyer-Richard and delivered a finger role with his right hand for two points.
Austin, as he was being shoved, screamed, "Come on, man" as his layup was in mid-air. He drew the foul while converting the shot to put CMU ahead, 59-43.
On his way to the free throw line, Austin stared down Boyer-Richard, who is just a timid freshman.
To cap off his performance, junior forward Rob Montgomery was cruising down the lane when Austin shoveled a pass to him for a slam dunk. While Montgomery jogged back, Austin screamed, focused on the crowd and threw a fist pump in celebration at center court.
Up by 20 points with just 72 seconds remaining, he finally completed the mission.
"You never know how a team's going to react when they have new faces," Davis said of the Chippewas. "We were able to feed off the intensity of a rivalry game. It was a big factor in the win."
WMU has still won five of the last eight meetings, but the Chippewas (16-6, 5-4 MAC) have now dropped the Broncos to 6-15 overall and 0-8 in conference play.
In the final game of the 2018-19 regular season, CMU and WMU will meet again at 7 p.m. March 8 at Read Fieldhouse in Kalamazoo.
Austin is ready to do it all over again.
"We have to fight and overcome adversity because they are going to go on runs at home," Austin said. "We have to stick together and go in with the mindset we are going to beat them."
