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Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles basketball final: Chippewas beat Eagles 65-51

John Simon and Chris Fowler both reached double-digits in scoring.

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Chippewas found an early groove

Central Michigan only made 36.5 percent of their 3-pointers, but most of their made shot attempts (10) were in the first half with Chris Fowler, John Kozinski, Braylon Rayson and John Simons all hitting at least two a piece. At halftime, the Chippewas led 36-23. By then, the Chippewas already had the lead for almost all of the first half and never lost it.

Just under 40 percent shooting in the first half, but the Chippewas were also 8-for-17 in 3-pointers. They slowed down to shooting just under 17 percent for 3-pointers in the second half, but the Eagles weren't shooting well anyways, which made things easier for coach Keno Davis and his Chippewas in this win.

Raven Lee kept things close

It shouldn't come to such a huge surprise that the Eagles couldn't really do much on offense. There wasn't much of a groove being found on that side of the floor, even though Brandon Nazione had a good day with eight points and eight boards playing down low. Lee finished off with 18 points, while Mike Talley and Karrington Ward finished with nine and three points, respectively.

Lee started the first half going 2-for-6 from the floor (five points), put was 4-for-11 in the second half, including three free throws. However, Central's defense kept things to a minimum, giving Lee and others almost no room for a good passing lane, with the Eagles only getting two assists in the second half.

EMU now has the worst winning percentage in MAC play

Dropping to 1-5 in MAC play, the Eagles are now the only one-win team now that Ohio pulled off a big win over Buffalo. But with Western Michigan losing to Akron and CMU winning this game, the Broncos and Chippewas are tied for first place in the West, both at 4-2 in conference play with the Eagles trailing by three games.

Game Leaders

Player Central Michigan Eastern Michigan
Points John Simons (15) Raven Lee (18)
Rebounds Rayshawn Simmons (9) Brandon Nazione (8)
Assists Rayshawn Simmons (6) 2 tied (1)
Blocks Luke Meyer (2) Tim Bond (1)
Steals Chris Fowler (3) 3 tied (2)