Roundtree, Austin explode, Chippewas move on in MAC Tournament
The way Larry Austin Jr. and Shawn Roundtree Jr. left McGuirk Arena last week didn't feel right to them.
The senior guard duo lost on Senior Day to Toledo, followed by a loss on March 5 to Northern Illinois. The loss to the Rockets gave Toledo a Mid-American Conference West Division title. The loss to the Huskies eliminated CMU from a first round bye in the MAC Tournament.
While you don't always get second chances, Roundtree and Austin did with a MAC Tournament first round game against rival Western Michigan.
This time, the two didn't leave their home hardwood in despair and a wonder of how they let so much slip through their fingers.
Instead, they left with a 81-67 win over the Broncos and five words.
"We're going to Cleveland, baby," Roundtree exclaimed.
The Chippewas (22-10, 10-8 MAC) were led by 44 combined points between its pair of senior guards and beat their rival from Kalamazoo for a third time this season.
Coach Keno Davis said anytime you can beat a team three times it feels good, especially when it's your rival, even despite the Broncos 8-24 overall record.
"It's tough," Davis said as he let out a sigh of relief. "It can be the mental mindset of you already beat a team twice and the other team feels like they should of won and makes adjustments. Sometimes you feel you don't have to make as many winning and the other team makes some shots and beats you.
"We knew with Western Michigan they weren't coming in to lay down, we knew from the tip it wouldn't be easy."
What happened
Roundtree opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers that got the crowd on their feet immediately. The Broncos senior center Seth Dugan answered with WMU's first five points and his team tied the game at eight all with 15:48 remaining in the opening half.
WMU would take the lead with less than 10 minutes to play in the half led by a senior guard Josh Davis triple. After two free throws from sophomore guard Michael Flowers, WMU led 17-11.
That lead would extend to 19-11 before CMU started to claw its way back in the game.
Fending off a below 25 percent shooting percentage for most of the half, CMU got hot from beyond the arc. DiLeo sunk a corner triple along with two from Roundtree including one that tied the game at 25 all and forced a WMU timeout with 3:35 left in the first half.
Roundtree hit another 3-pointer and a layup to end the half and guide CMU to a 35-33 advantage heading into the locker room.
He alone had 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep. CMU as a team ended the half at 39.4 percent from the field, but the Broncos weren't any better at 38.2 percent.
To start the second half, CMU took the gas pedal they were tapping to start the first half and slammed it to the floor.
Roundtree and junior guard Kevin McKay started the half with layups followed by a transition triple from the left wing by DiLeo. WMU head coach Steve Hawkins was visibly not happy and forced to call a timeout, trailing 42-33.
CMU would then up its lead to double figures for the first time on the night when Austin hit a layup plus the foul and followed with a coast-to-coast deuce. It was 49-39 CMU with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Austin and Roundtree just kept coming.
The Vanderbilt transfer got a quick steal under his basket from WMU's Jared Printy and then scored with Dugan and two other Broncos hovering over him. On the next possession, Roundtree swiped a pass at mid-court and scored an easy layup.
Their lead swelled to 12, and the seniors were smelling a trip to Cleveland.
CMU led by double figures the rest of the way and extended the lead to 14 points when the final horn sounded. The Chippewas earned their spot at Quicken Loans Arena.
"We're greatful man," Roundtree said. "We we're kind of bummed we didn't get the fourth seed like we were suppose to but we knew this game was do or die. Now we're gong to Cleveland and that's all that matters."
Austin finished with a game-high 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Roundtree was right behind him with 20 points, three rebounds and six assists. The other two Chippewas in double figures were DiLeo with 14 points and junior guard Dallas Morgan with 10 points.
In the closing seconds of the game, Austin dropped a dime to Morgan for a layup he couldn't convert. Austin went up to Morgan before his free throw attempts and gave him a friendly bump on the arm.
"Man, I told Dallas I'm going to go and dump it off but Dallas got too excited and missed it," Austin said laughing. "It's alright man, we going to Cleveland and at the end of the day that is all that matters."
Austin proceeded over to the stats table and tried to convince them to give him the assist.
"I said, 'If he makes both free throws, that's an assist'," Austin added.
With more than two minutes to play in the game and CMU up 13 points, Hawkins elected to have his team intentionally foul for the remainder of the game.
CMU missed the front end of the one-and-one free throw attempts on three straight trips. Davis said he would've done the same thing if he was trailing.
"It was probably a good thing because we needed the practice (from the free throw line)," Davis said.
What's next
The Chippewas will travel to Cleveland, Ohio for the second round of the MAC Tournament, where they will meet with Kent State (22-9, 11-7). Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 2:30 p.m. on March 14.
