Chippewas fall at Kent State, remain winless on road
Central Michigan guard Travon Broadway Jr. drives against Northern Illinois Jan. 7 at McGuirk Arena.
Despite trailing by 14 points early in the second half, the Central Michigan men's basketball team fought until the end.
The Chippewas hit the road Saturday to face Kent State and their struggles away from McGuirk Arena continued in a 79-73 loss to the Golden Flashes in the MAC Center.
CMU (9-7, 2-1) lost its first Mid-American Conference game of the season to KSU (13-3, 3-0) and the Chippewas remain winless on the road following the loss.
Senior guard Kevin McKay did not play for CMU after tweaking an injury during the week in practice. During the game, junior guard Devontae Lane was injured when he went down hard on the baseline in the second half and did not return. Additionally, senior forward Rob Montgomery played through a minor injury.
Central Michigan coach Keno Davis said McKay was day-to-day and did not have an update on Lane.
"It's a long season and we want to make sure they're healthy the next time they step on the court," Davis said. "We're a talented team, but it hurts our depth and hopefully we can get them back sooner rather than later."
The Golden Flashes jumped out to an 8-0 lead within the first three minutes before Lane put the Chippewas on the board.
In the first half, Kent State stretched its lead to as many as 11 points with 2:32 to play and would eventually take a 40-30 lead to halftime.
Junior guard Travon Broadway Jr. started in place of McKay and he led the team by playing 35 minutes and scored 14 points, his highest since the Nov. 5 season-opener against Michigan-Dearborn.
Broadway also registered his first block of the season in his first season coming in from Iowa Western Community College.
Kent State pushed the lead to 14 with 18:20 to play in the second half. While they never took the lead, the Chippewas methodically drew closer as the game ticked away.
Senior guard Dallas Morgan connected on his second 3-pointer of the day to bring the Chippewas' deficit to one point with 2:47 to play. Kent State then connected on its free throws to ice the game away.
Morgan finished with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Despite his injury, Montgomery finished with a team-high 16 points and shot 6-of-11 from the field and added seven rebounds.
The Chippewas had two others in double figures as senior forward David DiLeo and junior guard Deschon Winston each scored 12 points.
As a team, CMU shot 40.6% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc, making eight shots. Kent State shot 45.8% from the floor and 42.9% from 3-point range, making nine triples as a team.
"I was proud of our guys tonight," Davis said. "We were down two-and-a-half guys against one of the best teams in our conference. To not hang our heads and play competitively, I'm proud of these guys."
Up next, the Chippewas head to Toledo to face the Rockets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Savage Arena.
