Men’s basketball splits series in showdown at St. Pete
Central Michigan University senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. runs to get closer to the net before passing the ball to senior guard Logan McIntire at McGuirk Arena, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. Johnson scored six points along with having two assists. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
The Central Michigan Men’s Basketball team played back-to-back games in the past two days at McArthur Center in St. Petersburg, FL. They played in front of a total of 290 people during the showdown.
On Thursday, CMU played the University of South Alabama at 11 a.m.
With five minutes left in the first half, senior guard Logan McIntire makes a three to help the Chippewas take the lead, 27-26. However, CMU would not see the lead for much longer as South Alabama would make a layup and take the lead back for the rest of the half.
Much later in the game, with 1:37 left in the game, sophomore guard Jaxson Whitaker takes and makes a three-pointer to close the gap to three points.
However, the Chippewas lost 66-64, as they could only muster up one point for the rest of the game, despite having three free throw attempts. In fact, in the second half, the Chippewas would tie the game four times, yet fail to take the lead for the remainder of the game.
Seniors Nathan Claerbaut and McIntire lead the team in scoring with 12 and 21 points, with the former having a double-double. However, CMU as a team struggled with its shots, shooting 22-64 from the field, a 34.4% average. Mainly, the three-point shots were a problem, as they missed 30 of the 44 shots behind the arc.
On the second day, CMU bounced back with an 82-59 win over Coppin State University. In fact, after the first four minutes of the game, CMU never surrendered the lead. Coppin State led the score for just 35 seconds throughout the game.
Five Chippewas bounced back in an individual scoring way, scoring more on the second day. As a team, CMU shot 13.4% better with just three more shots taken.
They also shot less than half of the three-pointers they did the day before, shooting just 21 times.
Claerbaut, who led the team in scoring today, grabbed his second double-double in two days. Senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr., who split many of his minutes, still managed to score 15 points and grab rebounds, both second for the team.
These two games leave the Chippewas at an even 2-2 record for the season. They come back from their three-game road trip on Thursday, November 20th, at McGuirk Arena against Northern Kentucky University.
