MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Devontae Lane scored a career-high 27 points on Saturday to lead the Central Michigan men's basketball team to an 84-79 nonconference victory over Valparaiso at McGuirk Arena.
It was the Chippewas' home opener and it was their second-consecutive win after opening the season with three straight losses on the road.
The Chippewas play host to St. Francis (Ill.) on Monday (4:30 p.m.), and then open Mid-American Conference play at Western Michigan on Friday, Dec. 18 (2 p.m.).
"I'm really proud of this team," said CMU coach Keno Davis, whose team improve to 2-3. "To start off the season and to have to go on the road with so many new faces, injuries to our team, illnesses – everything that we're facing.
"I think we've improved rapidly the last couple weeks. Doesn't mean that we're a finished product, but I like the energy, the effort that we've been able to give and hopefully we'll continue that moving forward into the MAC season."
How It Happened
The Chippewas led 44-30 at halftime and bumped their lead to 15 early in the second.
Valparaiso (2-4) twice whittled its deficit to one point in the final five-plus minutes; the second time at 69-68 on a Daniel Sackey jumper with 4:53 to play.
Lane, who made a career-high five 3-pointers in the game, hit a triple 14 seconds later to put the Chippewas in front by four, 72-68. Valparaiso then drew to within two, 78-76, with under 30 seconds remaining before Travon Broadway Jr. made a layup to re-up the lead to four, 80-76.
Lane and Broadway made two free throws each in the final 10 seconds to ice it.
Leaders
Broadway made 14 of his 17 free throw attempts and finished with 21 points, while Lane was good on five of his six 3-point tries and was 8-for-10 from the line.
Meikkel Murray added 10 points and led the Chippewas with eight rebounds. CMU outrebounded the Crusaders, 36-31.
Stepping Up
Lane's previous career high, 18 points, came on Feb. 25, 2020 against Toledo. He also had three 3-pointers in that game, tying his career best. In his last three games, he has scored 12, 14 and now, 27 points.
Lane, a senior, is the Chippewas' lone returning starter. He made seven of his 14 field goal attempts against the Crusaders, and also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists while committing just one turnover.
"That's kind of what we knew when we recruited him, a player that's a great leader – a guy who can score when he needs to," Davis said. "It wouldn't be surprising to see him in other game have zero points and 10 assists. He's understanding what the team needs of him and that's going to be different night to night.
"Obviously when you have somebody with a hot hand, whether it's a shooter, a driver, a post-up player, it's my job to make sure I put them in the best position to be able to take advantage of a night where they're playing with a lot of confidence."
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Lane's Career Best Leads CMU Past Valpo - Central Michigan University Chippewas
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