Down 70-65 in the second half with just over four minutes to play, David DiLeo banked in a 3-pointer to spark a 19-7 run and fuel the Central Michigan basketball team to an 84-77 win over defending Southland Conference champion Sam Houston State.
CMU improves to 3-0 while the Bearkats fall to 1-2.
"The way (SHSU) had been . . .
"I felt like I shot it like my normal shot, it came off my hand a little wrong, but I guess when you're shot is feeling good, you can get a little lucky."
How It Happened
SHSU got off to a fast start with good ball movement and pesky defense. The lead would grow to as large as 27-15 in the first half for the Bearkats.
CMU would answer with a 15-6 run, triggered by a Kevin McKay basket that cut the lead to 33-32.
The second half featured seven lead changes between the two teams but CMU was strong late and was able to come out on top.
"We beat a really good, maybe even a great team (today) in Sam Houston State," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Our fans aren't going to know a whole lot about them, but some of them may watch them this year. You're talking about possibly a 20-win team that'll be playing in the postseason. We knew had our hands full. They gave us everything we wanted and was really proud of our team to find a way to win today."
"SHSU will come out and disturb you. They'll force you into turnovers and sometimes force you to into 3-point shots. I think we saw both, you saw us turn it over, and you saw us take some shots we shouldn't have taken. Give them credit for distributing us the way that they did."
Team Stats
CMU shot 37.9 percent from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc as compared to 43.8 percent overall and 40 percent from 3-point range by SHSU.
The big story was told at the free throw line. CMU hit 33 free throws while Sam Houston made just 13.
Individuals
DiLeo and McKay led Central Michigan in scoring with 17 points each.
DiLeo shot 5-for-9 from the field including 4-for-7 from three and 3-for-4 from the line. McKay was 6-of-9 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line.
"I think it was very important (to be balanced on offense) today especially with a team that's handsy and is all over the place," McKay said. "I feel that they were going into the game with a mindset that they didn't want one person to go off. It's important that we had contributions from everyone tonight. We had great contributions from Deschon Winston, Dallas Morgan and our whole team stepped up in every facet of the game."
Romelo Burrell collected a team-high eight rebounds. Guards Travon Broadway Jr. and Deschon Winston each had seven boards. Overall, CMU held a 43-38 rebounding advantage
From The Line
Despite struggling with its shot early, CMU would use the free throw line and Sam Houston's aggressiveness to its advantage.
SHSU committed 18 fouls in the first half and 16 in the second half. Two Bearkats fouled out while three others finished the game with four fouls.
CMU was in the bonus at the 13:26 mark and was in the double bonus at the 8:58 mark in the first half.
"I think, especially towards the end, (the free throws) are important," DiLeo said. "I always say to all the teams I've been on, in order to win, especially late, you have to take care of the ball and knock down free throws. We kind of struggled from the line for most of the game, but for some of our guys to step up and stay poised it was huge. It ended up winning us the game."
(Courtesy of CMU Athletics)