Central Michigan University
Bowling Green
Chippewas Upset By Bowling Green In MAC Quarterfinals
3/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Keno Davis had said all season that there is very little difference from top to bottom in the Mid-American Conference.
His assertion proved true - painfully true - Thursday as his fourth-seeded Chippewas fell to 12th-seeded Bowling Green, 62-59, in a MAC Tournament semifinal game at Quicken Loans Arena.
"I think what you saw tonight you've been seeing all year in our conference," Davis said. "You see it around the country, is the parity in college basketball.
"We really have some good teams from top to bottom, and we knew that coming into the conference tournament that anybody could beat anybody."
That didn't help ease the pain for the Chippewas, a team that returned all five starters from a squad that last year won the MAC regular-season championship and reached the league tournament championship game.
The higher the expectations, the more bitter the disappointment.
Freshman guard Antwon Lillard scored 26 points as Bowling Green (16-17) advanced to Friday's semifinal against top-seeded Akron.
A Lillard 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining put the Falcons up, 60-59. CMU turned the ball over on its next possession, and Ismail Ali hit two free throws with 2 seconds left for the final margin.
Fowler drove to the basket on CMU's final possession. He dished to Braylon Rayson who was heavily guarded. Rayson was whistled for stepping on the end line, turning the ball over to Bowling Green with 3.9 seconds left.
"I made a move to the right, sweeped the ball over (a defender's) head and I should have shot it," Fowler said. "I made the wrong play and I should have shot it."
Fowler scored 16 points and Rayson added 13, while John Simons finished with eight points and tied his career-high with 16 rebounds.
CMU's final inbounds pass, intended for Simons, was stolen by the Falcons.
It was perhaps the final game in a CMU uniform for Fowler, Simons, Rayshawn Simmons and Austin Stewart. That quartet, along with injured Blake Hibbitts, helped turn the program around, and last season delivered CMU its first league title in more than a decade.
"This is such a special group that we have been able to put together," Davis said. "I know that this group would like to not have this be our last memory.
"Most teams will finish with a loss, but to be able to continue to play basketball is something that a lot of teams don't have that opportunity to do right now. So we'll be on the phones with the various postseason tournaments and see where our standing is. It's our hope that we'll continue playing.
"I'm very proud of my team as a whole and especially the seniors that have given so much and the two guys up here (Fowler and Simons) are going to be remembered for a long time at CMU for what they were able to accomplish on the court, and hopefully that they were able to set the table for the next group that are underclassmen now and our next group that will be coming in that will represent the maroon and gold and the future of CMU."
The Chippewas struggled against Bowling Green, both from the field and the free throw line. They made a season-low four 3-pointers (on 20 attempts) and finished 13-for-24 (54.2 percent) from the line.
Simons, CMU's all-time leader in 3-pointers, finished 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. Rayson and Josh Kozinski, along with Simons the Chippewas' top 3-point threats, finished a combined 0-for-9 from long range.
"I think maybe there's a different backdrop than what you're used to," Simons said of shooting in an NBA arena. "I think that's something that you see from gym to gym. Obviously you get used to shooting in your home gym, but other than that, I think we got good shots from good shooters and tonight they just didn't fall."
The Chippewa seniors went from an 11-20 finish as freshman in 2012-13 - Davis' first year as coach - to the league championship last year and back-to-back MAC West titles.
Said Simons: "I guess first I would say I'm grateful and thankful for the opportunity to be able to play at Central Michigan for four years, coach Davis and his staff and all of the Central Michigan community for sticking with us. You know, it was a process and I think it's not going to sink in for a while after something like this.
"But I think when we look back at it, we'll be able to look back at all the great friends that we were able to make between our teammates, and I know that especially us seniors will be close for the rest of our lives. I guess we're just grateful and thankful for the opportunity that we were given."
