SPARTANBURG, S.C. – David DiLeo scored 22 points and Kevin McKay notched 21 to lead five Chippewas in double figures on Friday as the Central Michigan men’s basketball team downed Wofford, 98-94, in a second-round CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament game at Wofford’s Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
The Chippewas (21-14) will await their next opponent and site from tournament organizers. CMU opened the tournament on Monday with a 94-89 victory at Fort Wayne. The Chippewas have won five of their last six starts.
“I’m very proud of this team, and I have been all year,” CMU coach Keno Davis said. “To go in the postseason and play on the road -- not many teams have success playing on the road in the postseason, with the focus and the preparation, and to have the intensity where you need it.
Josh Kozinski added 18 points for CMU, Cecil Williams added 17, and Shawn Roundtree Jr. had 11. Williams and McKay led the Chippewas with eight rebounds each, while Roundtree dished out seven assists.
CMU’s balanced scoring offset a 37-point effort by Wofford’s Fletcher Magee, a 6-foot-4 junior who was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year. The Terriers finished 21-13.
Kozinski and DiLeo both made six 3-pointers as the Chippewas finished 17 for 38 (44.7 percent) from long range and shot 49.7 percent from the field overall.
CMU made all 15 of its free throws, marking the fourth time in program history a Chippewa team has finished 100 percent from the line. The last was on Feb. 21, 2015, when CMU made all 13 of its charity tosses against Ball State.
Williams hit a 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to put CMU in front for good, 90-87. Williams and McKay combined to go 8 for 8 from the line in the final 25 seconds.
“Defensively we came up with some big stops, some big rebounds in key situations, which we’ve been able to do the last few weeks,” Davis said. “Cecil Williams came up big down the stretch. He made a big shot and had a big dunk over a couple of defenders and that’s what you expect your seniors to do, to step up in those situations.”
All three Chippewa seniors, Kozinski, Luke Meyer and Williams “all played very important roles tonight,” Davis said. “Nice for them because it’s their last go around. It’s nice that they’ve been able to extend their collegiate careers one more game and it’s nice to see them be able to continue in this tournament.”