Kevin McKay hits game-winner, leads Central Michigan over NIU
Central Michigan guard Kevin McKay scores a game-winning shot at the end of regulation against Northern Illinois Jan. 7 at McGuirk Arena.
Kevin McKay received a pass from junior guard Devontae Lane in the high post.
McKay moved toward the basket and tenderly laid the basketball in off the backboard and in.
The senior guard turned back and screamed in celebration to his Central Michigan teammates as they had just defeated Mid-American Conference foe, Northern Illinois.
Technically, there were .2 seconds remaining, and junior forward Romelo Burrell intercepted the inbound pass to officially seal the 68-67 victory Tuesday in McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas (9-6, 2-0) found themselves by as many as 12 points with 13:11 to play in the second half.
CMU clawed its way back.
McKay was the catalyst.
Throughout much of his career at CMU, McKay has been a leader who flies under the radar, he leads by example and usually has quiet -- and effective -- performances.
Against the Huskies, he wasn't as quiet.
On the defensive end, McKay took the point more often than not, guarding NIU's point guard Chris Johnson. A piece of the game McKay does not normally do, but it worked.
On the offensive end, McKay was directing traffic and able to work his way into the paint, where he excels.
CMU and its coach, Keno Davis, saw a favorable matchup with NIU's big men as Noah McCarty and Lacey James were tasked, for the most part, with guarding McKay.
The bigger defenders were backing off McKay to try and contain him, but his quickness allowed him to work his way to the basket and score his game-high 21 points.
"When you're feeling it, you just kind of go with it," McKay said. "Coach did a good job of seeing I was feeling it and putting the ball in my hands, and I was able to finish some plays."
Senior forward David DiLeo said he could tell McKay was in for a big scoring night when he saw the Warren native weave his way through the Huskie defense.
DiLeo also said when McKay was able to finish tough shots, with multiple defenders around or some contact, that's when he knew.
"That just gets anyone going and you're starting to feel it," DiLeo said. "He's got a good matchup so we have to get the ball to him in situations to help him score."
In the situation which NIU presented CMU with, the bigger players guarding McKay and a guard on DiLeo, it was going to allow one of them to have a big scoring night, according to Davis.
Davis also said it wasn't just NIU, other teams will have to make that matchup decision throughout the course of the MAC season and acknowledged McKay's ability to step up in the given situation.
"Kevin's a great player, there's no doubt about that," Davis said. "I think because of the balance of our team, they put the bigger player on Kevin so they can put the guard on David so he doesn't get the 3-point shots, well that's going to be tough to match up with Kevin."
Outside of McKay, there were a number of times the Chippewas found themselves trailing and momentum swinging toward the favor of the Huskies (8-7, 1-1).
Senior forward was called for his fourth foul with 8:22 to play. He put his hands on top of his head in disbelief of the call, but he was able to finish the game with five points and three rebounds, two on the offensive end.
DiLeo and Lane both finished in double digits with McKay. DiLeo finished with 12 while Lane had 11 and five assists, none more important than the final one.
Another junior guard, Deschon Winston, finished with seven points and tallied three rebounds.
With all of the trouble the Chippewas faced, especially in the second half, Davis said he would put his team against anyone with their work ethic.
"I was proud of the way our guys responded after being frustrated on both ends," Davis said. "We just kept fighting and we were able to make enough plays down the stretch."
With the strong offensive night, McKay also committed three of CMU's 15 turnovers on the night. His only mistake of the second half came with 1:19 to play.
McKay tried to fire a pass to the middle of the floor to Lane, but it was intercepted by NIU's Eugene German, who took it the length of the floor for a layup.
After German scored, McKay looked up at the scoreboard, took a deep breath and worked on the next possession.
At that moment, that was all McKay said he was thinking about -- the next possession.
"Anytime I make a mistake, the only thing going through my mind is getting it back," McKay said. "If I don't get it back, I just erase it from my mind."
NIU's defense is one of the better defensive units in the MAC as it allows just 64.3 points per game. The biggest aspect of the Huskie defense is it does what it can to control the pace of the game and force opponents to make mistakes. The Huskies forced 15 CMU turnovers Tuesday.
Davis said he knows the competitive nature of the conference and he knows his team is always going to be in tough games.
"Our guys understand that toughness will be important because games in this conference are just not blowout games," Davis said. "There will be very few on either end. Games will come down to the last three or four minutes and you can't be disappointed that you didn't blow somebody out."
The Chippewas travel to Kent State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, Ohio.
