McKay led the Chippewas to a 85-78 win over arch rival Western Michigan at Read Fieldhouse and took the lead in the Mid-American Conference West Division standings with a 5-2 conference record.

In the first half, McKay put up nine points and led the team with six rebounds. He also had an assist and a block as he made contributions on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.

McKay, who played his final game at Western Michigan, said the emotions were high at first in the rivalry game.

"We understand the rivalry has been a thing long before we got here," McKay said. "It feels good to be able to come into a rival's house and win games. Last year, we won all of our matchups. So just continuing that as long as we can."

Junior guard Deschon Winston led the Chippewas with 10 points in the first half as CMU led 41-34 after the first 20 minutes.

Midway through the first half, Winston hit his first three shots to score seven-straight points and build up Central Michigan's momentum throughout the first half.

"I don't think about it," Winston said. "I just play basketball in the flow of the game."

In the first half, the Chippewas shot 50 percent from both the field (17-of-34) and from 3-point range (5-of-10) while the Broncos shot 43 percent (12-of-28) from the field and 30 percent (4-of-13) from long range.

CMU coach Keno Davis said he was particularly impressed with his team's defense and the Chippewas' intensity on the defensive end of the floor was the difference in the game.

"We started off with great defensive intensity," Davis said. "All of a sudden, (Western) started to figure it out and were having success on it. One of our options was to look at our zone defense at the end of the first half and we played it for the majority of the second half."

The second half belonged to McKay and Winston as the pair took over to lead Central Michigan on both ends of the floor.

McKay was able to drive toward the basket and score several times while battling contact from Western Michigan's forwards. Winston, on the other hand, was able to help defensively as he drew several Western Michigan charges. He also helped facilitate four assists on the offensive end.

In total, McKay led the way with 19 points and 12 rebounds to complete a double-double. He also had an assist and two blocks.

"It was good," McKay said. "I started out the game with a few offensive rebounds to get myself on the board quickly. I'm an energy guy, whenever I can find easy baskets, it helps me a lot."

Winston, on the other hand, finished the game with 18 points while shooting 5-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.

Fellow junior guard Devontae Lane exited the game midway through the second half with an apparent leg injury. He returned with just over a minute to play in the game to help his team seal the win.

Davis said the performances of McKay and Winston while Lane, the team's starting point guard, was critical to the Chippewas' victory.

"On the defensive end, they gave great effort," Davis said. "On the offensive end, as Western stayed out on David DiLeo and our other shooters, they were able to create. That's what you need to do, get to the free throw line and finish around the rim."

Central Michigan won its second game on the road by defeating the Broncos. The other win was Jan. 14 at Toledo.

Winston said the team needs to continue to bring energy and keep it up throughout games on the road.

"This was a big win for us," Winston said. "It built up momentum for us to win games on the road. I'm new to Michigan, and I heard this is a pretty big rivalry. So, we have to bring the energy a little more and I hopped on the wagon. We just have to bring the energy more on the road."

After the big game on the road, the Chippewas host Bowling Green, the best team in the MAC East, at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 in McGuirk Arena.

Five straight: Central Michigan takes down Western Michigan, 85-78

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