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Broncos climb back into MAC West title picture |
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Written by Paul Bowker
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MT. PLEASANT, MI - Here’s a Rose that Central Michigan University basketball fans will remember for a long time.
Playing their final regular-season home game at Rose Arena, the Chippewas stormed back from a 10-point deficit Saturday, defeated their most bitter rival, and tied Ball State and Eastern Michigan for first place in the Mid-American West.
Yes, that was some kind of an afternoon for CMU, which defeated Western Michigan 74-66 on a day that WMU’s David Kool became the 10th leading scorer in MAC history.
“We’ve had nothing but battles with them,“ said CMU coach Ernie Ziegler. “All we’ve had are hard-fought games. In a rivalry like this, two very well-coached teams, you’re going to see kids battle and you saw a level of physicality throughout the night.“
Kool scored 31, pushing his career total to 2,021. But on this day, he needed to score 40 in order to save the Broncos (15-14, 7-8 MAC West), who have lost four of their last six games and now can only play the role of spoiler when they host Ball State on Wednesday night at University Arena.
“It’s getting down to the end of the season and it’s hard not to think about it,” said Kool, who hit 30 points for the seventh time this season and converted all 14 free throws he took. “We really don’t know what’s going to happen.”
With just one game left, here’s what is known. CMU and Eastern Michigan will play Wednesday in Ypsilanti, and the winner of that game will clinch at least a share of the MAC West. If WMU was to knock off Ball State, then CMU or EMU would win the title outright; if Ball State wins, the Cardinals would also grab a share of the title. Ball State lost a chance to win the MAC West on Saturday, when it somehow managed to lose to Toledo; the Rockets had lost 19 straight and were winless in MAC games.
If CMU wins the title and grabs a bye through the first round of the MAC Tournament, the Chippewas may never play again at Rose. A new events center opens up on campus next fall.
WMU can finish in a tie for second place with a win over Ball State, or in fourth place and a likely No. 9 or 10 seed in the MAC Tournament with a loss.
While Kool had the biggest number Saturday, CMU’s backcourt stole the show at Rose. Jordan Bitzer and Robbie Harman each scored 22 points and each had four assists. The Chippewas’ third starting guard, Antonio Weary, hit all three shots he took. Bitzer had a game-high 10 rebounds. Combined, the trio had 53 points, eight assists, six steals and just two turnovers.
Harman scored 15 of his points in the second half, including three 3-pointers. He had the first two baskets of an 8-0 CMU run late in the game, turning a three-point Chippewas deficit into a 63-58 lead with 4:10 left. The Chippewas never trailed after that. WMU had just two baskets in the final four seconds, including a layup by Kool with just 4 seconds left.
Kool scored 16 points in the second half, but WMU’s other four starters combined for just half of that.
“I thought the real story of the game was our offensive impatience,” WMU coach Steve Hawkins said. “We just didn’t show enough patience and that led to … some fast-break opportunities for them. That’s where Bitzer and Harman found themselves.”
Flenard Whitfield and point guard Mike Douglas added eight points for WMU, but Kool was the only Bronco in double figures.
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