Men's basketball collapses down the stretch, falls to DePaul
Keno Davis was livid.
The plan was for junior guard Devontae Lane to make both his free throws to cut the lead to seven, then take a chance by fouling a DePaul player and see what played out at the free throw line.
But as was the case throughout the entirety of the second half for Central Michigan, it did not go as planned.
Lane missed both free throws. DePaul sophomore forward Darious Hall grabbed the rebound, and after a series of passes between Blue Demons, Hall drove past a pair of flailing Chippewa defenders for an easy layup.
On top of this back-breaking layup, senior guard Dallas Morgan was called for a foul. Hall hit the free throw, and the Blue Demons led by 12 with 1:45 to play.
Despite taking an 18-point lead into the halftime break, Central Michigan fell, 88-75, on the road to DePaul on Tuesday to fall to 5-2 on the season.
Judging from the way the game began, one would never think the Chippewas would've been in the position they were in at the end of the game.
After the Chippewas scored 50 points in the first half for the fifth time this season and took an 18-point advantage into the break.
The Blue Demons unleashed an offensive onslaught that started with the opening sequence of the second half. Junior forward Paul Reed scored the first four points of the second stanza, igniting a rally that would doom the Chippewas.
Reed was not alone.
Senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands put up 18 points and junior guard Charlie Moore added 16. The Blue Demons scored 56 points in the second half and held a statistically potent Chippewa offense to just 25 points in the final 20 minutes.
For Central Michigan, struggles were abundant. The Chippewas were outrebounded 49-35 and turned the ball over 11 times.
Senior forward David DiLeo, who came into the game shooting over 40% from beyond the arc, missed all eight of his 3-point tries. Lane and fellow junior guard Travon Broadway Jr. combined for just 10 points.
Morgan led the Chippewas in scoring with 20 points. Senior forward Rob Montgomery had 17 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Kevin McKay chipped in 13 points off the bench.
The Chippewas next take the floor at 4:30 p.m. Saturday as they welcome in Youngstown State to McGuirk Arena. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the women's team, who will square off with Marist at 1 p.m.
