Chippewas outmatched by BGSU for second straight game
For the second time in five days, CMU's men’s basketball team fell by double-digits to Bowling Green.
The Chippewas lost 93-65 in McGuirk Arena Saturday after falling 90-69 against the Falcons (9-2, 5-0 Mid-American Conference) in the Stroh Center Tuesday.
Senior guard Devontae Lane said that the team needs to remain positive for 40 minutes despite what the scoreboard may read.
“When things are going really well for us, we’re all good, we’re all talking and communicating,” Lane said. “When things go bad, we put our heads down and (act) like the game is over already. If (the opponent) goes on a 6-7-point run, we put our heads down and do stuff we normally don’t do as a team.”
Despite their second-consecutive loss by at least 20 points, head coach Keno Davis believes that the Chippewas (5-6, 1-3 MAC) are anything but out of contention in the conference.
“We have to understand that this was a good measuring stick for us and be able to look at us against the best team in the conference and understand where we need to try to get to by the end of the season,” Davis said. “Hopefully, we can improve and hopefully we can get healthy in the same breath.”
CMU led out of the gate thanks to a Travon Broadway Jr. jumper and a layup from Meikkel Murray for a quick 4-0 lead. The Falcons scored the games next 11 points behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Kaden Metheny.
Another layup from Murray would pull CMU within five, but the Chippewas failed to capture momentum after two successful free throws from Justin Turner and another pair of 3-pointers from Metheny put BGSU in the driver’s seat as the Chippewas trailed by at least six points for the remainder of the game.
The Falcons led for 18:49 in the first half while shooting 18-of-39 from the floor and 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. The Chippewas shot 10-of-32 from the field and 3-of-10 from long range in the games opening 20 minutes.
CMU was unable to find momentum in the second half, being outscored while shooting 8-of-28 from the floor and missing all six of their shots from long range.
Freshmen forward Aundre Polk left the game early in the first half with an injury. No update was available on his injury postgame.
Broadway finished with a team-best 19 points. Murray earned 14 points and forward Malik Muhammad grabbed a team-best 12 rebounds.
With 14 games remaining in the 2020-21 schedule, Davis said that team chemistry needs to improve both offensively and defensively.
“We’re only going to get that through experience, and taking a long-term approach is going to be important,” Davis said. "There’s glimpses of some real talent on this year’s team, and it’s going to be great to continue to develop (chemistry) in the future.
“For this group we want to develop as quick as we can because we don’t want to be talking about waiting until next year and watch how these guys are going to ne next season."
The Chippewas are scheduled to face Kent State Tuesday and Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 16 in McGuirk Arena. Both games are set for 4:30 p.m. tipoffs.
