COLUMN: Central Michigan has plenty to be proud of in gritty loss to No. 18 Buffalo


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Senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. stares down his defender in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament on March 15 in Quicken Loans Arena.

Sitting in my chair on media row at Quicken Loans Arena, I thought to myself, "There's no way this can actually be happening."

I'm sure a lot of people in that arena, and those watching on CBS Sports Network, felt the same way, as No. 5 Central Michigan went toe-to-toe with No. 1 Buffalo, also ranked No. 18 in the nation, in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals.

With just over two minutes remaining, the Chippewas (23-11) and Bulls (30-3) were knotted, 76-76.

Nothing made sense.

Larry Austin Jr. is a former reject Division I point guard. Shawn Roundtree Jr. is a JUCO product who was told countless times he couldn't make it to the top. David DiLeo is a former high school tennis star. Kevin McKay is made out of pure hustle, and it's his single job every game. Rob Montgomery is called on to act like he's 6-foot-11 when he's really only 6-foot-6.

But somehow, for 40 minutes on Friday night, those five played like superstars against a team filled with the best players in the conference. The Chippewas shot 10-of-26 from 3-point land and had five score in double figures.

Who am I kidding? DiLeo often found himself in the paint on defense against 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward Nick Perkins. DiLeo should've been annihilated, but he wasn't. He played so well that Buffalo fans were taunting Perkins, the MAC Sixth Man of the Year and First Team All-MAC honoree, for his poor play.

Montgomery had to deal with 6-foot-10 forward Montell McRae for a majority of the game. Even though he was embarrassingly undersized on paper, it didn't seem that way on the hardwood.

"We knew they outsized us by a lot, but we just knew we had to be tougher than them and stronger and more physical," Montgomery said.

Senior guard CJ Massinburg was the MAC Player of the Year, so it only seemed fitting he'd whoop Roundtree and Austin on the court. But that's not what happened. 

"We controlled pretty much the whole game until down the stretch," Roundtree said.

Don't forget about Jeremy Harris, a 6-foot-7 guard with speed and the ability to stretch the floor. The Chippewas locked him down, too. Credit there goes to McKay and role players Dallas Morgan and Romello Burrell defending on the perimeter and inside.

Buffalo senior guard CJ Massinburg talks to his teammate at the foul line on March 15 in Quicken Loans Arena.

All five of Buffalo's starters, plus sixth-man Perkins, could start at any program in the conference. They all could be First Team All-MAC players, and that's nearly how it shook out when the awards were released a few days back.

For 39 minutes of the semifinal game, CMU was the better team. It wasn't until a couple late free throws from Massinburg allowed Buffalo to sneak into the MAC Tournament championship with an 85-81 victory.

"They were more ready than us," said Buffalo coach Nate Oats. "We weren't playing the way we've been playing, looked a little dead out there."

This is the same Buffalo team that only lost three times all season coming into Friday's matchup. On the way to a 30-win mark, Oats' group took down top programs in the country like West Virginia and Syracuse.

It was grit that kept CMU in the game. The Chippewas were 13-point underdogs, and rightfully so. Heart, hustle, determination and belief are not measured on paper or tallied as a number. When faced with adversity, those traits arise in certain players.

For CMU coach Keno Davis' team against Buffalo, the grit factor and heart seemed to be fluid across the entire roster. In the end, it just wasn't enough.

"Proud of our guys, how we battled today," Roundtree said. "Unfortunately, it just didn't go our way."

With that said, the Central Michigan men's basketball program truly has something to be proud of, even if its MAC Tournament title hopes ended in a loss.

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