Men's basketball team drops another game to Eastern
Out fought.
That was how Head Coach Jay Smith described CMU's 72-59 loss to Eastern Michigan on Valentine's Day at Rose Arena.
There wasn't much sweet happening for the Chippewas as they were out worked and out hustled by an Eastern Michigan team that was fighting for a home court spot in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
CMU, a team fighting to get out of the cellar of the MAC, showed little in the way of desire Monday night and looked woeful on the offensive end, shooting 37 percent for the game, 58 percent from the line and missing a number of layups.
"They (EMU) came out and had more emotion and had more fighting spirit. We had no fight and no emotion," Smith said.
Smith was concerned about what the Chippewas had left in the tank going into the game because of the tough games in the previous days at Ohio University and Western Michigan.
"Coming off of OU, we played really well. At Western Michigan we played well. I feared we would have nothing left in the tank, but that's got to be a top priority. With only three games to go, especially when you're Danny Schell and Jason (Webber) and the seniors, Teddy (Baggett) and Todd (Simmons). It's got to come from the top down," Smith said.
So Smith decided to give the seniors a chance.
Jason Webber received playing time early, as Chad Pleiness left temporarily as his nose was bleeding, and Teddy Baggett was put into the lineup.
"I tried to put Baggett in the lineup to energize us and get the guys excited about playing," Smith said.
CMU was down by double figures when Baggett entered the game and it did not take long for him to have an impact.
Only, it probably was not the impact that he expected to have.
He was called for a blocking foul when Smith and many in attendance thought otherwise.
Instead, they thought it was an offensive charge.
Smith jumped up, yelled at the refs and was charged with a technical foul putting CMU into a deeper hole.
The hole was 13 (39-26) heading into the half and it was clear Central needed to do something to turn the tide in the second half.
"I energized them at halftime and they fed off that for awhile," Smith said.
That energy translated into nine straight points to start the second half as CMU climbed back within four points at the 16:41 mark in the second half.
The Chippewas continued to battle and were within five (48-43) as late as the 11:27 mark.
This had EMU Head Coach Milton Barnes concerned.
"It was down to five points and that was close enough. I knew they could run off a number of 3's at any time. The key was to (keep working hard) defensively and stay aggressive on offense," Barnes said.
And that was it.
From there EMU took control to the finish, outscoring CMU 24-16 the rest of the way.
Freshman point guard C. J. Grantham led the way offensively for the Eagles scoring 15 points to go with seven assists, and playing all but two minutes.
"We needed him to step up. People are leaving him open and he has to take those shots. He was more aggressive tonight," Barnes said.
A pair of sophomores, forward Antonio Gates and center Calvin Warner, added to Eastern's offensive effectiveness.
Gates finished with 11 points and seven boards, while Warner added 14 points and four rebounds.
CMU was led by David Webber, who finished with 21.
"David Webber played well and competed. He hit a couple of big shots," Smith said.
But, he had to work hard for each point and he did not get much offensive help.
Barnes credits his team's defense for shutting CMU down.
"Central is a great shooting team. It's important to play great defense," he said.
From here, CMU has three games remaining on the schedule to catch Buffalo and move out of the MAC's basement.
First, Central travels to Northern Illinois for a 2 p.m. game Sunday at NIU.
Then it comes home for the final two weeks, with a 7 p.m. Thursday game against Ball State and a noon game Saturday against Toledo, to finish the season before MAC Tournament action begins.
