Men's basketball runs past Kent State, moves on to semifinal with Buffalo
After holding the lead for 12 minutes and 48 seconds from the first half into the second half, Central Michigan had to find an answer to Kent State's push for a 52-51 lead midway through the second half.
CMU called a timeout to stop the bleeding. In the huddle it was made evident something had to be done to get this game back in its control.
The Chippewas were on the brink of falling apart.
But like many times this season, they didn't back down and now, they are heading to the Mid-American Conference semifinal round.
No. 5 CMU (23-10) fired off an 18-2 run in the second half which ultimately led to an 89-81 win over No. 4 KSU (22-10).
"You work all year to get to this point," said senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. "Credit to Kent State, but credit our guys for staying composed."
What happened
Coming out of a timeout at the 15:39 mark of the opening half, junior forward David DiLeo gave a cross over dribble and stepped into a 15-foot jumper which he drained. CMU led 12-5 at that point.
Foul trouble started to set in with Roundtree and junior forward Rob Montgomery picking up two of them. KSU took advantage.
A 7-0 run finished off by the Golden Flashes' Jalen Avery's 3-pointer made it 19 all, leaving Davis looking for answers and calling a timeout with 8:22 left in the half.
With both teams struggling to find buckets, CMU earned three tough offensive rebounds that led to a Kevin McKay put-back with the KSU band shouting "air-ball" repetitively as he went back up. Austin made a layup on the next trip down and forced a KSU timeout with a 28-25 lead, 4:45 remained in the opening 20 minutes.
That sequence seemed to give CMU a new energy.
And for Roundtree, it seemed to make it so he couldn't miss.
The senior guard got a pass that touched every Chippewas hand before his and drained a 3-pointer from the left wing. On the next possession, he got another open look from the deep left wing.
Bang.
CMU suddenly ripped off a 10-2 run and would end up taking a 42-34 lead into the locker room. Roundtree was 5-of-6 from deep and his team was out-rebounding the much larger Golden Flashes 25-17.
"I was just telling myself let the game come to me after I picked up two quick fouls and had to slow down," Roundtree said. "My teammates, Larry especially, just kept telling me to shoot the ball and I had no hesitation."
But in the second half, KSU turned the tide.
Led by a Jaylin Walker deuce and a Phillip Whittington and-one conversion, KSU trimmed CMU's lead to 47-46 with 15:18 to play.
Austin answered with an and-one bucket of his own on a coast-to-coast drive and finish through hard contact. Right after, KSU poured in a 6-0 run and led at 52-51 for the first time since the 6:10 mark of the first half. Head coach Keno Davis needed a timeout.
Both teams were throwing gut punches, but only one could leave standing.
If it were a cage match, CMU ended it with a knockout blow.
Morgan drilled a straight away triple with a hand in his face late in the shot clock and Romelo Burrell added an and-one bucket out of that timeout. After a couple more buckets from Austin, Morgan hit a corner triple which capped off an 18-2 run.
KSU needed air and CMU took all of it out them as they led 69-54 with 7:51 remaining.
The Golden Flashes would find a way to get the CMU lead down to eight points with 40 seconds to play. However, an abundance of free throws from Morgan, Roundtree and junior forward Rob Montgomery iced the game away over the closing minutes.
Austin ended the game tied for a game-high 23 points with KSU's Whittington on 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) shooting. The MAC's leading scorer Walker scored 19 points on 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) shooting.
The matchup was highlighted as a major key to the outcome of the game coming in which statistically, Austin won. Austin himself didn't think about the matchup with Walker prior to the game as anything extra, however.
"It's not me versus Jaylin Walker, it's Central Michigan versus Kent State," Austin said. "I had the mindset to win a basketball game and to do whatever it takes to make that happen."
Roundtree finished with 20 points, Morgan added 16 and McKay notched 10 tallies for the Chippewas double digit scorers. McKay also added 11 rebounds for a double-double.
For the game, CMU shot 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from deep and KSU only mustered up a (9-of-35) 25.7 percent mark from deep.
Now, the Chippewas will play No. 1 Buffalo (29-3) at 6:30 p.m. on March 15 at Quicken Loans Arena for a shot at the MAC Tournament title game.
CMU was projected to finish last in the MAC preseason standings.
When asked about the chance to knock of the conferences top team, Davis brushed his hand down his tie, lifted his eye brows and smiled.
"It's just nice to be here and have a chance to win a championship," Davis said.
