MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Fueled by suffocating, up-tempo pressure defense and 32 points off turnovers, the Central Michigan Men’s Basketball team took control of its exhibition game by scoring the contest’s first 14 points en route to a 58-11 halftime lead and eventual 97-32 exhibition victory over NCAA Division III Alma Sunday afternoon at McGuirk Arena.
Central Michigan outscored Alma 32-5 in points off turnovers, forced 25 Alma turnovers, outrebounded the Scots 55-35, and shot 47 percent (31-66) from the floor and 47.8 percent from 3-point range in registering the win. Alma was held to 1-30 on 3-point field goals and 20.6 percent (13-63) shooting from the floor.
Five Chippewas players reached double figure scoring led by Derrick Butler’s 18 and Paul McMillan’s 14. Three players—Brian Taylor, Cayden Vasko, and Jemal Davis all added 11 points. KJ Oduor grabbed 12 rebounds with eight points, Aidan Rubio added nine points and nine rebounds, and Taylor added nine rebounds and a team-high three steals.
“Through the exhibition games, intersquad scrimmages and practice, we are just trying to develop our identity,” Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. “When they come to see this team play, whether or not we win or lose, we want them to walk away saying a few things; ‘man, does that team compete,’ ‘do they play hard, holy smokes, do they get after it?’ I think this team has trait; we’ve got some competitive players on this team. The second thing we want people to say is ‘Man are they unselfish.’ This is an unselfish team. The last thing I want people saying about us is, ‘boy, do they have fun playing together, do they love each other, and are they out there connecting on the floor like brothers.”
“We have a team of guys who have bought all the way in and it’s showing. Now, we’ve got to go out and prove it against other good teams.”
Central Michigan took control from the opening tipoff. The Chippewas scored the game’s first 14 points. KJ Oduor opened the scoring with a layup, Cayden Vasko drilled a 3-pointer, then followed with a free throw. Derrick Butler hit back-to-back free throws, Brian Taylor registered a steal and dunk to make it 10-0 at the 16:53 mark, Aiden Rubio drove the baseline and hit a jumper, then Butler hit two free throws for a 14-0 lead. Finally, Alma’s Cotton Meister put Alma on the scoreboard with a jumper.
The Chippewas then went up 34-4 with 9:21 left in the first half. They used a 17-0 run to go up 31-2.
At halftime, CMU led by 47 points (58-11) after shooting 52.9 percent (18-34) from the floor, 45.5 percent from 3-point range (5-11) and converting 17 of 18 free throws.
“Today, we ratcheted up the pressure a little more that we didn’t have in for Northwood and created a lot of turnovers,” Barbee said. “We’re long, we’re athletic, we have defensive instincts, and when you have guards that can pressure the ball like we have not and not get beat, it allows that length to get into passing lanes, now we’re getting deflections that leads to steals and good things. We want to use our length, our athleticism, want to use our ability to defend and competitive spirit to turn it into quick offense.”
Every Central Michigan player who was available saw game action and scored in the contest. CMU starters included Brian Taylor, Cayden Vasko, Derrick Butler, Aidan Rubio, and KJ Oduor.
The next time the Chippewas lace it up will mark Central Michigan’s first regular season game, which is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 6 at Oklahoma. Tipoff time is listed at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT for an ESPN+ broadcast.
—CMU—