CEDAR PARK, Texas - Central Michigan dug itself a Texas-sized hole that it could never climb out of and fell to St. Bonaventure, 102-71, on Tuesday night in game two of the Lone Star Showcase. The loss was CMU's first of the 2016-17 campaign, dropping it to 4-1. St. Bonaventure improved to 2-2.
"It was one of those games when . . .
"It was one of those games when . . .
. . . we couldn't do anything right and everything St. Bonaventure did worked," said CMU head coach Keno Davis.
"Combine that with a team that has the opportunity to win the Atlantic 10 again, that is picked to be in the NCAA Tournament, that is very physical and it wasn't a great matchup; everything seemed to go against us."
"Combine that with a team that has the opportunity to win the Atlantic 10 again, that is picked to be in the NCAA Tournament, that is very physical and it wasn't a great matchup; everything seemed to go against us."
Junior guard Marcus Keene, who entered the game leading the NCAA in scoring with a 30.3 average, led Central Michigan with 23 points, on 7-of-15 shooting, in 29 minutes of court time.
Luke Meyer (11) and Braylon Rayson (10) were the only other Chippewas to reach double figures in points.
Five minutes into the game, the Bonnies staked themselves a quick 12-2 lead. CMU whittled away at the deficit and a Meyer lay-up with 9:19 remaining in the first half pulled the Chippewas within three at 22-19. But that's as close as CMU would get the rest of the way.
After Keene knocked down two free throws at the 3:23 mark, making the game 40-32, St. Bonaventure embarked on a 13-5 run to end the half and head to the locker room with a 53-37 advantage. It was the first time CMU entered halftime trailing this season.
St. Bonaventure held a huge advantage in free throws in the first half, attempting 23 as compared to seven for Central Michigan. That, combined with just one turnover, primarily accounted for the Bonnies sizeable lead at the break.
"They were the aggressor and were more physical - offensively, defensively and rebounding," said Davis. "And we didn't respond."
CMU was outrebounded for the game, 42-30, and surrendered a season-high 14 turnovers. Denzel Gregg led the Bonnies with 10 rebounds to go along with 12 points to record the tournament's first double-double.
St. Bonaventure extended its lead quickly in the second half, getting 3-pointers from Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley early on.
Mobley finished with a game-high 28 points, going 8-of-16 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Adams added 17 points. All five Bonnie starters reached double figures in scoring.
CMU couldn't keep pace with the Bonnies in the second half, shooting just 32 percent (8-of-25) from the field, including 23 percent (3-of-13) from 3-point range.
Josh Kozinski led the Chippewas with three 3-pointers, including two in the second half, but fouled out with 6:34 remaining in the game.
"The nice thing about this event is, when you play in back-to-back-to-back days, you can't dwell on a loss. Tomorrow we play a team that was in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen a year ago. You play in an event like this to challenge us," said Davis.
"Sometimes you have to play in a game like this to learn and get better. I know we will work extremely hard to be in a better position when we play a team like St. Bonaventure again."
The Chippewas finish out play at the Lone Star Showcase on Wednesday versus Little Rock. Tip time is 8:30 p.m. ET.
(Courtesy of CMU Athletics)
Luke Meyer (11) and Braylon Rayson (10) were the only other Chippewas to reach double figures in points.
Five minutes into the game, the Bonnies staked themselves a quick 12-2 lead. CMU whittled away at the deficit and a Meyer lay-up with 9:19 remaining in the first half pulled the Chippewas within three at 22-19. But that's as close as CMU would get the rest of the way.
After Keene knocked down two free throws at the 3:23 mark, making the game 40-32, St. Bonaventure embarked on a 13-5 run to end the half and head to the locker room with a 53-37 advantage. It was the first time CMU entered halftime trailing this season.
St. Bonaventure held a huge advantage in free throws in the first half, attempting 23 as compared to seven for Central Michigan. That, combined with just one turnover, primarily accounted for the Bonnies sizeable lead at the break.
"They were the aggressor and were more physical - offensively, defensively and rebounding," said Davis. "And we didn't respond."
CMU was outrebounded for the game, 42-30, and surrendered a season-high 14 turnovers. Denzel Gregg led the Bonnies with 10 rebounds to go along with 12 points to record the tournament's first double-double.
St. Bonaventure extended its lead quickly in the second half, getting 3-pointers from Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley early on.
Mobley finished with a game-high 28 points, going 8-of-16 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Adams added 17 points. All five Bonnie starters reached double figures in scoring.
CMU couldn't keep pace with the Bonnies in the second half, shooting just 32 percent (8-of-25) from the field, including 23 percent (3-of-13) from 3-point range.
Josh Kozinski led the Chippewas with three 3-pointers, including two in the second half, but fouled out with 6:34 remaining in the game.
"The nice thing about this event is, when you play in back-to-back-to-back days, you can't dwell on a loss. Tomorrow we play a team that was in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen a year ago. You play in an event like this to challenge us," said Davis.
"Sometimes you have to play in a game like this to learn and get better. I know we will work extremely hard to be in a better position when we play a team like St. Bonaventure again."
The Chippewas finish out play at the Lone Star Showcase on Wednesday versus Little Rock. Tip time is 8:30 p.m. ET.
(Courtesy of CMU Athletics)
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