CMU men's basketball uses three-point shooting in win over EMU
With the game tight to end the first half, Central Michigan men's basketball looked for a way to pull away from Eastern Michigan in Tuesdays matchup.
That was when junior guard Anthony Pritchard gave the Chippewas three-straight buckets, propelling CMU to a 15-4 run and expanding its lead to 13. The run led to CMU coming out on top 80-64 over the Eagles.
The win, which is the second straight for the Chippewas, brings the team to 7-8 on the season, while being 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
The first half of basketball looked like fans were in for a thriller as in the first 10 minutes there had already been seven lead changes.
By the end of the first half CMU built a 33-31 lead, thanks to 13 first half points from junior guard Derrick Butler.
CMU continued to add to its lead in the second half, getting out to its biggest lead when graduate guard Brian Taylor’s bucket expanded the lead to 22 with just under three minutes to play.
Eastern Michigan attempted a comeback in the closing minutes but could only cut the Chippewa lead to 16.
Offensively CMU found success in a spot where the team has struggled from all season and that was the three-point line. Only shooting 30 percent on the season, the Chippewas were able to shoot an effective 63 percent in the matchup
CMU shot better from three-point line than it did from the field as the Chippewas shot 61 percent from the field.
Three different Chippewas made multiple three-pointers with them being, Brian Taylor (3-3), Derrick Butler (3-4), and sophomore Aidan Rubio (3-5).
Butler and Taylor were joined by junior forward Markus Harding as the leading scorer, as all three ended with 17 points.
Somewhere CMU really struggled was protecting the ball. The team had 16 turnovers, as the Eagles had 10 steals, with four players having multiple.
Eastern Michigan also had 11 offensive rebounds, translating into 10 second chance points.
Central Michigan will look to extend its win streak to three games on Saturday, when Kent State travels to Mt. Pleasant to take on the Chippewas at 2 p.m.
