Central Michigan men’s basketball lost to Stony Brook 73-72 in a heartbreaker on Thursday night in their home opener. With just 3.9 seconds left on the clock, the Chippewas had a chance to win after trailing by one point. Senior guard Anthony Pritchard inbounded the ball, sprinted down the court, and took a contested three-pointer as time expired. Despite drawing contact on the shot, no foul was called, and the shot missed, sealing the loss for CMU.
The defeat brings the Chippewas’ record to 1-1.
“We didn’t want to let any games slip at home this year, and we let the first one go. It’s very disappointing,” said head coach Tony Barbee. “It’s disappointing when we had full control of the game.”
The game began slowly, with both teams struggling to find offensive rhythm. Stony Brook took an early 11-6 lead midway through the first half. However, CMU responded with a 7-2 run, and junior Damarion Bonds hit two consecutive three-pointers to tie the game at 17.
“He (Bonds) has the chance to be an electric scorer, and we got a small glimpse of what he can do,” Barbee said. “That’s why we recruited Damarion. He’s an electric scorer.”
The game remained tight for the rest of the first half, but CMU finished strong, outscoring Stony Brook 7-2 in the final three minutes to take a 36-30 lead into halftime.
CMU started the second half with a strong defensive effort, forcing back-to-back turnovers that led to easy points, giving the Chippewas a 42-33 lead. However, with 13:44 left in the game, Bonds went down with a left leg cramp after scoring through contact. His injury forced CMU to play without their leading scorer.
“We’ve just been so injured,” Barbee said. “We haven’t gone five on five in practice the entire preseason, and when we have, it’s been against managers and coaches. Not excuses, it just is what it is.”
After Bonds’ injury, CMU pushed ahead with two alley-oops from Pritchard to Jakobi Heady, extending the lead to 63-53. But Stony Brook mounted a comeback, going on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 65-61 with five minutes remaining.
The Seawolves continued to fight, and with 59 seconds left, they tied the game at 71. Stony Brook then intentionally fouled Pritchard, sending him to the free-throw line with 24.7 seconds remaining. Pritchard made the first free throw, giving CMU a 72-71 lead, but missed the second. The rebound was grabbed by CMU’s Bryan Ndjonga.
Stony Brook fouled Ndjonga, sending him to the line with 23.1 seconds left. Ndjonga missed both free throws, and Stony Brook capitalized. Freshman Collin O’Connor drove to the basket for a layup, putting the Seawolves ahead 73-72 with 3.9 seconds left.
CMU had one final chance, but Pritchard’s contested three-pointer as time expired was off the mark, giving Stony Brook the win.
“We missed three straight free throws. Make the free throws, and the game is over,” Barbee said. “Then defensively, we didn’t execute. We knew exactly what to do on that high ball screen because we knew what was coming, but we did the opposite.”
Next, the Chippewas will travel to Milwaukee to face No. 18 Marquette on Monday at 9 p.m.
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