Inside the front page of Central Michigan’s media guide is a full page color spread touting Marcus Keene and Braylon Rayson as the highest scoring guard combo in the country.
On Wednesday, the CMU duo lived up to the billing and then some. Keene entered the game as the top scorer in Division I by averaging 30.8 points per game. Short-handed Montana State threw an array of defenders at him, starting with scrappy sophomore Devonte Klines and eventually including redshirt freshman walk-on Cooper Olson.
The Bobcats made the 5-foot-9 bulldog with as sweet a shooting touch as you’ll see work for almost all of his shots. But when he heated up, he burned the nets at Brick Breedin Fieldhouse and the Bobcats in the process.
Keene hit five 3-pointers, including three during an 11-0 run that gave CMU the lead for good en rout to a career-high 44 points. Rayson, who entered the game with a 17.6 points per game average, didn’t score in the first half but got downhill against MSU’s defense all second half in scoring 16 points as the Chippewas held on for a wild 106-103 victory in front of 2,066 on Wednesday night.
Marcus Keene takes Cooper Olson to the basket/by Brooks Nuanez
“Sticking together, staying composed, a lot of people made big shots at the end, me and Braylon,” said Keene, a native of San Antonio who transferred from Youngstown State before last season. “We made free throws at the end.
“Playing like this is fun. Coach Keno (Davis) trusts me to do a lot with the ball. He gives me the keys to run our team and it feels good to do that.”
Keene notched his career night despite rolling his ankle and heading to the locker room to have it taped 12 minutes into the game. He returned with almost no ill effects. With Montana State leading 75-74 with five minutes, 50 seconds remaining, Keene hit a go-ahead 3-pointer. He would drill three triples in Central Michigan’s next five possessions, including pull-ups from at least three and sometimes five feet beyond the 3-point line. His last 25-footer put CMU up 89-80 in lightning bolt fashion and 3:43 left on the clock.
Keene would score seven more points and Rayson would score nine over the last three minutes to hold off a furious late charge that saw MSU sophomore Tyler Hall score 11 points in the last 100 seconds.
Central Michigan junior guard Marcus Keene scored 44 points against Montana State Wednesday night/ by Brooks Nuanez
“Sometimes, I get in a rhythm, make one, I feel open, make two, I feel wide open,” Keene said. “Going out with that ankle injury, it slowed me down a little bit. It took me five or 10 minutes to get the stiffness and soreness out but once I did, I found my rhythm.”
Hall entered the game averaging 23.5 points per game, tied for fourth in the country. The reigning Big Sky Freshman of the Year finished with 29, including consecutive 3-pointers in the final 20 seconds. Hall’s 30-foot game-tying heave attempt at the buzzer hit the front of the rim but fell to the floor.
“I thought we took a step the other night in the first 30 minutes (against South Dakota) and then for nine minutes and 30 seconds, it fell apart,” MSU head coach Brian Fish said. “Tonight, I thought we took a step forward, a step rebounding, a step in other guys stepping up and playing, a step in our bench pulling together, our team pulling together. That was the best one through 14 we’ve been. I’m not a participation medal guy but I really, really liked our competitiveness.
The loss is Montana State’s sixth straight. The Bobcats take a 5-8 mark into their Big Sky Conference opener in Bozeman next week. The win is pushes Central Michigan to 9-3.
Montana State junior center Benson Osayande/ by Brooks Nuanez
Despite the loss, Montana State’s effort and competitiveness were as good as it has been all season. Despite the absence of senior Quinton Everett (knee) and junior Joe Mvuezolo (undisclosed) on the bench with injuries and senior Sarp Gobeloglu serving the second of a two-game suspension, the Bobcats hung tough with one of the most high-octane teams in the country.
Hall’s late flurry boosted his scoring output despite shooting 8-of-22 from the floor, 5-of-14 from beyond the arc. Freshman point guard Harald Frey had his best game in nearly a month, scoring 17 points and hitting all eight of his free throw attempts. Three nights after struggling in a 80-68 loss to South Dakota, junior Zach Green bounced back to score 16 points and grab seven rebounds.
The bench buoyed the Bobcats as well. Junior center Benson Osayande had the breakout game of his career, converting 8-of-9 attempts, including a dunk after a Green steadl to cut the CMU lead to 104-100 with 16 seconds left. Osayande finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, including five offensive rebounds that led to four converted field goals.
“When you watch him on film, his quickness is alarming,” Fish said. “He was fed some cheese on some plays and he finished them. But it’s the first time I thought he played above the rim down instead of below the rim up. Anybody that watched him tonight would not question his athletic ability at all. He was at times dominating.”
Montana State freshman point guard Harald Frey/ by Brooks Nuanez
The Bobcats were so short-handed, Olson, a walk-on from Class C Westby, played four minutes in the first half and a career-high six overall. The native of a town of 168 guarded the country’s leading scorer on three different first-half possessions and held him scoreless. In the second half, Olson scored his first career points on a corner 3-pointer to give MSU a 63-62 lead with 10 minutes left in the game.
“I wanted someone who I knew would go in to fight him and the first name that came to my head was Cooper,” Fish said. “We are talking about a kid that takes 15 hours and gets a 4.0. We are talking about a kid that scout team every day, just so happy to be on the team. If I were to ask him right now to jog home for Christmas break, he’d take off. He’s relentlessly bought into the team.”
Fish said part of the scouting report was to concentrate on the dribble-drive and shooting abilities of Keene and Rayson. But MSU’s third-year coach knew the guards would score their points. In an effort to help his inexperienced guards playing against the explosive veterans, MSU helped off forward Cecil Williams. The junior hit all five of his shots, including three from beyond the arc and scored 16 crucial points to lift the Chippewas.
Montana State head coach Brian Fish/ by Brooks Nuanez
The visitors also were aided by 24 made second-half free throws and 29 makes at the charity stripe overall. The Bobcats cashed in on 25-of-29 fro the stripe, including eight each for Hall and Frey and a 5-of-5 performance from Osayande.
The game featured 19 lead changes and 12 ties. MSU trailed 99-89 with 52 seconds left but behind Hall, Osayande and Green cut it to a one-possession game twice in the final 20 seconds. Keene hit 13-of-17 free throws but missed two in the last 20 seconds. Rayson’s only miss from the charity stripe in eight attempts came in the final 12 seconds.
After a 5-2 start, MSU is reeling, at least on paper. But Fish saw glimpses was MSU led South Dakota by nine before a late collapse on Sunday. And he saw strides despite employing just eight scholarship players on Wednesday night. Now his team’s focus turns to Big Sky play. MSU hosts reigning regular-season and tournament champion Weber State on December 29.
“In the past, that last three would have buried us,” Fish “Tonight, we turned it. We were driving the ball, making plays, making shots. I just hope that’s not fool’s gold.
“We had a good 71 minutes the last 80 minutes of basketball. It can’t leak. We have to grow up.”
