CMU mens basketball ends 2025 with loss
Coming out of halftime Central Michigan mens basketball trailed the Ohio Bobcats by two after leading for most of the first half.
CMU guard Tamario Adley scored right out of the break tying the game at 31, but Ohio's offense refused to let the game stay close, going on a 14-2 run over the next four minutes, prompting the Chippewas to play catch-up for the rest of the contest.
The team from Mount Pleasant eventually lost 80-64, falling to 4-10 on the season and 0-2 in Mid-American Conference play.
The game started with both offenses fighting to set the pace of the game with Central Michigan finding the bulk of its early success in the mid-range as the maroon and gold took a quick 10-5 lead.
The CMU defense started off strong, keeping Ohio at a five point deficit until there were five minutes left in the first half, at which point the Bobcats seemed to find a spark offensively, tying the game at 18 with a deep three from Ajay Sheldon.
Both offenses traded blows for the rest of the half, and despite the maroon and gold being in the driver's seat for a majority of the first twenty minutes, it was the school from Athens leading 31-29 going into the locker room.
The Chippewa defense looked to come out of halftime with its same intensity as the squad was able to force bad shots out of Ohio during the first half, causing the Bobcats to shoot 2-14 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
However, despite the Central Michigan defense continuing to hold firm, the offense melted down early in the second quarter as the squad became plagued by turnovers that turned into points for the school in Ohio.
The squad from Mount Pleasant coughed up the ball on three straight possessions in the opening minutes of the second half, helping Ohio prop up a run that proved to be insurmountable for the Chippewas over the course of the rest of the game.
Thanks to a 14-2 run in the opening minutes of the second half, a close fought battle between the two teams quickly spiraled into a lopsided match in which the Chippewa offense struggled to get off the mat.
CMU refused to go down without a fight, and fought back to single digit deficits multiple times, but the Bobcats had no problem keeping the maroon and gold at arms length for the rest of the game, sending Central Michigan reeling with an 80-64 defeat.
Turnovers remained a problem for the squad, not in quantity, but rather the proximity in which they occurred.
The defense was the bright spot for Central Michigan as the unit played well enough to keep the team in the game.
However, the offense did not click going 0-13 from three which ultimately proved to be devastating as Ohio forced CMU to become one dimensional offensively.
Adley led the team in scoring with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists shooting a highly efficient 50% from the field.
Phat Phat Brooks followed close behind with a career high of 18 points and six rebounds.
Central Michigan mens basketball returns to Mount Pleasant to take on the Toledo Rockets on Saturday, Jan 3. at 3 p.m.
