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Central Michigan leads from start to finish

Chippewas counter every run


MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Central Michigan got out to a quick start and never trailed in a taking a 74-69 victory against Ohio on Saturday at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas (15-4, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) took a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes and held off several surges by the Bobcats (7-12, 2-6 MAC)

Javarez Willis led Ohio with 14 points, while Ryan Taylor and Antonio Campbell had 12 points each. Maurice Ndour took only five shots but still posted a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Chris Folwer led Central Michigan with 17 points, with John Simons adding 16 points and Austin Stewart 10.

"I thought tonight what really put the knife in the back is that we didn't finish at the rim," Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. "The number of just absolute missed layups was as large as any game I've seen. We shot a good percentage anyway. If you just make your layups -- that's another five, six shots made -- you're around 60 percent, and you've got a chance to win the game."

Each time the Bobcats made a run, the Chippewas answered. Willis drained a 3-pointer to make it 12-7. An Austin Keel 3-pointer at the 10:34 mark capped Central Michigan's response and put it up 24-11. Ohio followed with seven straight points to get within 24-18.

Another Willis trey made it 29-23 with 6:25 to go, and the Bobcats could have got it back to six before halftime, but instead gave up a Braylon Rayson jumper and then committed a turnover, putting the score at 41-31 at the break.

Simons had two 3-pointers early in the second half with the second one giving Central Michigan its biggest lead, 47-33. Ohio came back with a 10-0 run, though, starting with a Taylor 3-pointer and capped by a Taylor jumper. A turnover kept the Bobcats from getting even closer, and Josh Kozinski connected on a trey to end the run.

Campbell had a dunk with 8:25 remaining to get Ohio back within four, 58-54, but it got no closer with two straight turnovers - the second leading to a Blake Hibbitts 3-pointer. Central Michigan pushed its lead back up to 11 on a Fowler layup with 2:11 to go.

Ohio could not get enough stops in the closing minutes to make a run, twice giving up shot-clock beating buckets. Treg Setty had a steal and layup to make it 73-67 with 23 seconds left, but the Bobcats could not force another turnover as time ran out after a Willis layup.
Though the Bobcats came up short, they stayed competitive, unlike in Tuesday's blowout loss at Eastern Michigan.

"We played with a lot more energy, and when we got down by 12 points, we actually didn't give up," Campbell said. "We fought back a little bit."

The Bobcats shot slightly better than the Chippewas, 47.1-46.4 percent, but Central Michigan had 11 3-pointers to six for Ohio, which also had 16 turnovers to its opponent's nine.

Ohio hosts Akron at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Convo.








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