Travon Broadway Jr. scored a career-high 25 points . . .
"This was a big win because we've been on a little drought (and) to get back in the win column is big," said Broadway, who also tied his career high with five steals. "When you're winning, everything's going good, everybody's feeling good about themselves and the team. We had good practices leading up (to the game) so now we just try to build on this win; keep going."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Chippewas used a 15-0 run late in the first half to turn a 25-18 deficit into a 33-25 lead with under a minute to play in the half.
"We started sharing the ball, started pushing the fastbreak, started looking up ahead, making the extra pass … making better choices," Broadway said.
CMU started the second half on a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 16, 45-29, with about 17 minutes to play. The Eagles never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
KEYS
The Chippewas forced 14 Eastern turnovers and held the Eagles to just three 3-pointers on 24 attempts.
By all but silencing Eastern's outside game, the Chippewas forced the Eagles to drive to the basket. CMU was solid in that department too, cutting off the gaps and the passing lanes.
"We made a concerted effort to contain the ball so we put pressure on the guy guarding the ball to keep it in front of him and we wanted to make sure we got in our gaps and shrunk the floor," said assistant coach Chris Davis, who served as the head coach in place of Keno Davis, who missed the game because of illness. "We forced a lot of turnovers and for the most part did a good job with it."
LEADERS
Meikkel Murray added 17 points for CMU, Ralph Bissainthe came off the bench and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, and point guard Devontae Lane and Murray combined for eight assists against just three turnovers.
Yeikson Montero paced Eastern Michigan, which had four players in doublefigures. Miles Gibson contributed 12 pointts off the bench, while Noah Morgan and Ty Groce added 10 apiece.
EMOTIONAL LIFT
For the first time this season, the Chipewas played at home with fans in the stands. Family members of the players were allowed to attend the game.
"Our guys were so excited when they heard that their families could come," Davis said. "Now, not all the families could come because they're from a distance and they didn't have the opportunity to get here quick enough.
"But they'll be here later and (the players) know that. You walk out and you hear people clapping and you hear them cheering. It meant a lot to our guys and they were excited to play for them. To have our families there meant the world."
(Courtesy CMU Athletics/MRO Edit)