CHICAGO – Senior John Cantrell (Pontiac, MI/Northern HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) tallied a game-high 25 points and a career-best six steals to lead six Chicago State players in double figures as the Cougars defeated visiting Central Michigan by a score of 84-74 tonight at the Emil and Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center. CSU improved its season record to 2-1, while the Chippewas fell to 1-2 on the year.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage in the first three minutes of the game after senior Mike Wilson (New York, NY/Mt. San Jacinto CC) (New York, N.Y.) canned a three-pointer at 16:49, but Central Michigan responded with a quick 7-0 run in 2:02 to claim a 9-8 lead on a triple by freshman Adrian Hunter. Senior Tawrence Walton (Chicago, IL/Kennedy-King College) (Chicago, Ill.) later scored five straight points as the home team regained the lead at 22-18 with 9:09 left in the half. The Chipppewas tallied an 8-0 run with five points coming from junior Jacolby Hardiman which gave them a slim 26-22 lead which culminated with a three-point play from Hardiman at 7:32. Back-to-back treys by Wilson jumpstarted a 23-7 run for Chicago State for the rest of the stanza as it entered halftime ahead by a 45-33 margin.
Central Michigan opened the second half with an 18-9 scoring drive which lasted nine and a half minutes to slice its deficit to 54-51 after a layup from sophomore Jeremy Allen at the 13:51 mark. CSU then scored nine of the next 13 points in two minutes which hiked its lead to 63-55 on a Cantrell layup at 11:29. The Chipppewas would bounce back with a 15-8 run in a six-minute stretch to close within a single point (71-70) on jumper from senior Chris Kellermann with 4:57 remaining in the contest. Cantrell and sophomore Carl Montgomery (Chicago, IL/Shepard) (Palos Heights, Ill.) combined to score 11 of the Cougars' points during a 13-4 run in the final minutes for the final margin.
“The game was so slow in the first half because we only missed seven shots. In the second half, we shot only 34 percent. If we don't get to the offensive boards, we lose tonight,” second-year Cougar head coach Benjy Taylor assessed after the game. “We would not have won this game last year. We have great leadership on this team. J.C. is a great player, Carl (Montgomery) got loose on the baseline and Mike (Wilson) hit some big shots for us when we had a scoring lull.”
Walton finished with a double-double of 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for CSU, while sophomore Christian Wall (New Orleans, LA/John Ehret) (New Orleans, La.) added 14 points off the bench. Wilson and senior guard David Holston (Pontiac, MI/Avondale HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) each contributed 11 points and combined for eight of the Cougars' 19 assists on the night. Montgomery finished with 10 points and tied a career high with four blocks.
Hunter led four Central Michigan players in double figures with 18 points and Hardiman tallied 17 points with seven boards. Kellermann recorded 15 points and three steals, and Allen posted 12 points for the Chippewas.
The Cougars travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa on Tuesday, Nov. 25 when they face Northern Iowa at the McLeod Center in the second game of the 2008 Chicago Invitational Challenge for both teams starting at 8:05 p.m.
~ CSU ~
