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Central Michigan Clobbers Northwestern, 80-67

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Braylon Rayson scored 19 points, and Central Michigan beat Northwestern 80-67 on Wednesday night.

Luke Meyer had 18 and Rayshawn Simmons added 13 for the Chippewas (7-1), who have won two in a row after suffering their lone loss of the season Dec. 2 at Bradley. Central Michigan, which was playing on the road for only the second time this season, won its first game in 11 days and led by as many as 19.

On Wednesday they also defeated a Big Ten team for the first time since winning 78-67 on Dec. 15, 2007 at Michigan.

The Chippewas did that because of their offense. Entering play Wednesday they were averaging 82.6 points per game and hitting 47.9 percent of their shots, and that strong offense continued against the Wildcats. They hit 58.3 percent of their shots - including 10 of 18 from behind the 3-point line.

Meyer had 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting before halftime on his way to a career-high. His previous best was 13.

That helped the Chippewas top Northwestern (6-4), which only got as close as three early in the second half.

The Wildcats were coming off an emphatic 101-49 win Sunday over Mississippi Valley State, but they looked more like the team that had lost its previous three games. They were outrebounded 31-26 and were 26 of 62 from the field.

Bryant McIntosh and Alex Olah had 12 for Northwestern, which allowed its season-high in points.

Northwestern was once again without senior JerShon Cobb, who has been shut down indefinitely due to various injuries. He isn't expected to play Saturday when the Wildcats host Western Michigan.

When the Wildcats play that game, they'll hope to get off to a better start than Wednesday.

Central Michigan dominated the first half, leading 36-29, shooting 52 percent and outrebounding Northwestern 19-12. A Rayshawn Simmons 3-pointer with 3:56 remaining in the first gave Central Michigan a 29-17 lead, compelling Northwestern coach Chris Collins to call a timeout.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, struggled during the opening 20 minutes but cut the deficit to seven at the buzzer thanks to an Olah 3-pointer. Unlike their win over MVSU when they led 47-26 at the break thanks to hitting 18 of 30 shots, the Wildcats were just 11 of 30 prior to halftime.

TIP-INS

CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Wednesday was the Chippewas' lone game against a team from one of the power five conferences. . John Simons entered play 23 of 38 from 3-point range but was only 0 of 2.

NORTHWESTERN: The Wildcats dropped to 3-1 all-time against Central Michigan in the schools' first meeting since Nov. 26, 1996. . Northwestern was unable to hold its opponent below 70 points for the 16th straight game, allowing 70 or more for the first time since Feb. 19.

UP NEXT

CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Friday at home against Concordia (Michigan)

NORTHWESTERN: Saturday at home against Western Michigan.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

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