Despite 40-point win, Central Michigan seeks improvement in team chemistry

The next shot taken from the Chippewas also came from Lane, who was unable to convert near the basket.

Two possessions later, senior forward Rob Montgomery missed a layup.

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Central Michigan trailed NAIA Michigan-Dearborn, 11-6, less than four minutes into the Nov. 5 contest at McGuirk Arena.

The dysfunction was clear, but it was understandable.

"Part of that is learning how to execute the offense," said eighth-year coach Keno Davis. "In some instances, we had guys freelancing."

Senior guard Kevin McKay accidentally stepped out of bounds following a rebound with nobody around him just before the first media timeout. He threw the ball to the floor in frustration.

Senior guard Dallas Morgan, with 15:22 left in the first half, missed a 3-pointer just four seconds after getting a defensive rebound. The shot was forced and unnecessary at that point in the possession.

"It's still early for us," Morgan said. "As time goes on, our chemistry will get 10 times better. Right now, for today's game, we did OK as far as gelling with each other."

Those scenarios helped paint the first-half picture for Davis' season opener, which ended in a 102-62 victory against the Wolverines.

Again, the miscues were understandable.

The Chippewas rolled out a starting lineup that looked similar to last season's group – McKay, DiLeo and Montgomery. Two new faces, however, are now in charge of the backcourt.

Lane and junior guard Travon Broadway Jr. are transfers from the NJCAA level – Lane from Indian Hills Community College, Broadway from Iowa Western Community College.

"Really good offensive players, guys that can score, pass and play the game," Davis said. "They're able to do more than one thing, and that's what makes us a dangerous team this year."

The guards have taken over for now-professionals Larry Austin Jr. and Shawn Roundtree Jr., two pass-first guards that emphasized ball movement, superb shot selection and taking care of the basketball.

With 7:56 remaining in the first half, Central Michigan's three assists were from Montgomery and two players off the bench in Morgan and junior forward Romelo Burrell.

None from Lane and Broadway.

"First game out, there are going to be some bumps in the road," DiLeo said. "Overall, I think it was a good first game, but I expect that to get a little better each time we step on the court."

Even with the first-half struggles from an offensive standpoint, there were spurts shown that resembled a starting lineup that could become a threat in the Mid-American Conference.

One example came at the 14:18 mark in the first half when Broadway got a steal and score behind half court to trim Central Michigan's deficit to two points.

Or when Montgomery got an offensive rebound, was smothered by two defenders and somehow found Broadway on the cross-court pass for a corner 3-pointer to take a 21-19 lead with 12:18 remaining.

Even when Central Michigan was trailing early in the contest, the team never panicked.

"We just stuck together as a team, picked each other up and made adjustments," DiLeo said.

Just when Lane was beginning to falter from a decision-making standpoint, he was thoroughly impressive. He cut to the basket with 7:49 left and dished the ball to McKay, who finished with an and-one dunk to tie the game, 27-27.

Another transfer guard, Deschon Winston, came off the bench and got a steal and score off Michigan-Dearborn's inbound to give his team a 29-27 edge. 

"Our press worked really well for us," DiLeo said. "We made them work a little harder and tired them out."

All of those examples were signs of greatness from players that haven't completely gelled together.

And then there was DiLeo, who made a barrage of 3-pointers in catch-and-shoot situations for 20 of his 22 points in the first half. He was 5-of-7 from downtown.

The senior forward knocked one down with 3:35 left in the first half off a pass from Lane to take a 39-30 lead. 

DiLeo's job is to be trigger happy when he feels there's an open opportunity to shoot, even if it's off one pass to start the possession.

His role is different from the others, especially since he's not called on to facilitate.

"The biggest attribute I bring to any team I've been on is my 3-point shooting," DiLeo said. "I've been working hard in the offseason to bring it up to a greater level."

With 51 seconds left in the first half, DiLeo did the same thing – catch-and-shoot – for a 3-pointer to make the score 51-36 at the break.

Of the team's seven assists, Lane had three assists and Broadway had one – much better than at the 7:56 mark.

When the second half began, there was an immediate change in ball movement, shot selection and decision making. 

Davis said it occurred naturally.

"Guys were kind of watching their teammates make plays, and that can happen," Davis said. "The assistants made some adjustments to get the spark on offense by attacking the basket and not settling so much on the perimeter."

Even when Michigan-Dearborn locked DiLeo down, the Chippewas still managed to score over 100 points. Other players filled the void, and Central Michigan began playing like a team.

"Dearborn did a really good job of taking me away in the second half, so I didn't get as many good looks," DiLeo said.

On Central Michigan's first possession of the second half, the Chippewas took a 54-36 lead on a 3-pointer from Broadway. 

The key difference from the first half was that five passes were made before McKay found Broadway for the triple.

In a fast break situation, Lane drew the only defender to him before dumping the ball to Broadway for a layup with 16:27 left in the second half.

The Chippewas pulled away from Michigan-Dearborn quickly in the second half, and one of the monumental plays to put the contest away came with 14:07 remaining.

Winston sprinted toward the basket, and as three defenders collapsed on him, he dished the ball to Morgan for an easy layup and a 72-40 lead.

"Credit to Deschon Winston," Morgan said. "He found me in the second half and gave me a rhythm. They continued to leave me open, so I took what the defense gave me."

Rather than taking it himself, Winston gave the ball away – one of many situations in the second half where the Chippewas played unselfishly and gave up a tough shot for a much better opportunity.

The first half struggles quickly transitioned to team success, something that takes time to develop with two brand new guards mixed with returning starters.

"As the season goes on, I think we'll get better with our chemistry," Morgan said. "That comes from us practicing hard and knowing our tendencies."

Lane finished the game with a team-high six assists in 22 minutes of action, while Broadway had five in 25 minutes. Morgan and DiLeo paced the team in scoring 23 and 22 points, respectively.

After struggling in the first half with a 1-for-7 clip from the field, Lane concluded his Central Michigan debut with 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Broadway had 17 points and was 7-for-8 from the field, making 2-of-3 triples.

The new starting guards both had four steals to combine for 44.4% of the team's takeaways.

In that first half, Lane and Broadway showed signs of greatness in plays made on their own. Once the second half came around, those same players made their own plays while also helping the team through ball movement, unselfish acts and taking the best shot possible.

"My biggest takeaway is cleaning up and finishing our possessions," Morgan said. "That's the biggest thing we need to work on as a team. I feel like our offense is going to take care of itself."

There's still a lot of room to improve.

This was only the first game of the season.

Davis expects his squad to run like a well-oiled machine come the conference opener on Jan. 4 against Miami (Ohio).

After that, it's all about continuing to develop as a unit for the MAC Tournament in March.

"Every week, we want to be better," Davis said. "Improvement the entire year is the difference between teams being a success in Cleveland and those that fall a couple of possessions short."