Chippewa men collapse down stretch and drop eighth straight game
Senior guard Dallas Morgan hit a jumper with 5:16 remaining in the game to give Central Michigan a 10-point lead. The Chippewas had never trailed and looked to be nearing their first victory since a Feb. 4 triumph over Bowling Green.
It was the last made field goal of the game for the Chippewas.
Eastern Michigan closed the game on a 16-2 run en route to a 67-63 comeback victory. The Eagles (16-13, 6-10) defeated the Chippewas (13-16, 6-10) in the EMU Convocation Center in Ypsilanti. The win gives the Eagles a regular-season sweep of the Chippewas and pushes Central Michigan to fourth in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
The two teams began the game going back and forth, the Chippewas holding a slight advantage throughout the first half. Senior forward David DiLeo hit two 3-pointers and senior forward Corey Redman hit one of his own to give CMU a 9-0 run and push its lead to 12. Redman scored a layup on the next possession to give the Chippewas their largest lead of the game at 26-12.
The Eagles cut the lead to single digits on a pair of free throws from Ty Groce, however, Morgan scored five straight to push the Chippewa advantage back into double figures. The Eagles answered with the final five points of the half to keep the deficit at nine.
The two teams traded baskets early in the second half before senior guard Kevin McKay scored a layup to push the Chippewa lead back into double figures. Eastern Michigan's Shamar Dilliard laid in a bucket to cap off an Eagle run that cut the CMU lead to just three, however, the Chippewas quickly pushed the lead with a 7-0 run, capped off by another Morgan triple.
DiLeo hit a triple to push the Chippewa lead to 59-46 with 7:04 remaining, but, the Eagles began to chip away. Yeikson Montero hit a jumper to cut the lead to eight before Morgan's jumper with just over five minutes to play made it 10.
Montero hit back-to-back 3's to cut the Chippewa lead to three. Chris James intercepted a Devontae Lane pass and slammed home a dunk on the other end to cut the lead to one. After DiLeo missed a triple, Boubacar Toure converted a 3-point play to give Eastern Michigan a 63-61 lead.
The Chippewas tied the game with two free throws from senior forward Rob Montgomery, however, Toure hit two more free throws to help the Eagles regain the lead. Montgomery missed a jumper and Thomas Binelli split a pair of free throws. Central Michigan would get one final possession, but, the offensive set became frantic as Eastern extended its pressure beyond the 3-point line and the Chippewas turned the ball over.
Montero scored a game-high 17 points and Groce added 14. Toure scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Morgan led the Chippewas with 16 and DiLeo added 14.
Central Michigan next takes the court at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana against Ball State.
