Murray shines, Chippewa men lose at Kent State
Bronx, NY. junior Meikkel Murray receives an alley-oop from teammate Travon Broadway Jr. against St. Francis Monday, Dec. 14, at McGuirk Arena.
Junior forward Mikkel Murray scored a career-best 23 points against Akron Jan. 21.
It took the Bronx, New York native nine days to top his career-best with 26 points in an 83-76 Mid-American Conference loss to Kent State Saturday in the MAC Center.
CMU (6-10, 2-7 MAC) has dropped six of its last seven contests and are 2-8 away from McGuirk Arena this season.
CMU has lost four of its last five matchups to the Golden Flashes (9-4, 6-3) and now trail the all-time series 34-50.
“We have a talented group, but a lot of these guys are (playing Division I basketball) for the first time,” said head coach Keno Davis. “Our effort was great, now we have to be better mentally, be sharper and learn.”
Despite a 2-7 conference record, Davis is optimistic about the remainder of the team’s season.
“I told the team after the game that I’ve had teams that have been rebuilding and about halfway through the conference schedule to keep a good attitude to finish off the year. This is not one of those teams,” Davis said. “This team can have a chance to beat anybody and we know we have to win some games down the stretch to have a chance at Cleveland.”
The Chippewas opened a 28-21 with 9:19 to go. The Golden Flashes erupted with a 21-4 run to take a 10-point advantage with 3:26 remaining. A 10-4 CMU run cut the deficit down by four points with 0:59 seconds until intermission, but a Danny Pippen layup and a pair of Justyn Hamilton free throws put the Chippewas in an eight-point deficit at halftime.
The Chippewas used a 15-4 run, featuring 12 points from Murray and senior guard Devontae Lane, to capture a 57-56 lead with 13:07 left. The Golden Flashes withstood the onslaught and responded with an 11-0 run of their own to put the Chippewas down 67-57 with 10:03 to go.
The Chippewas pulled within five points with 46 seconds to go, but Kent State proved to be too much, handing the Chippewas their 10th loss of the campaign. The Chippewas finished 13-of-34 from the floor in the final 20 minutes and were outrebounded 25-19.
On top of scoring at least 20 points for the second time in his last three games, Murray lead CMU with 12 rebounds for his second career double-double. Caleb Huffman a career-best 23 points off the bench.
Senior guard Travon Broadway Jr. finished with a season-low five points on 1-of-12 shooting. Three other players scored for the Chippewas with Lane’s 10 points being one of three CMU players to finish in double-figures.
Pippen led the Golden Flashes with 26 points and 11 boards.
CMU hosts Ohio at 5 p.m. Tuesday before traveling to Northern Illinois on Feb. 6.
