Posted: Jan 31, 2016
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With the loss, the Central Methodist University Eagles fall to 10-12 overall and 4-10 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. With the victory, the Avila Eagles; who are currently receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, improve to 15-7 overall and 8-6 in The Heart.
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The Central Methodist Eagles hung around all afternoon, but struggles late in the second half cost CMU once again. In the first half, Avila shot just 33% from the floor, yet they took a 33-28 lead into halftime. CMU shot 34% from the field in the first half, and struggled behind the three-point arc, shooting 5-for-16.
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Central's struggles continued from behind the three-point arc in the second half, but they shot better from the field; 41% for the half. However, so did Avila; shooting 57% from the field, 62% from beyond the three-point arc, and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.
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Midway through the second half, an elbow from Marcus Walden caught the head of Avila's Nduke Ezeamii. With Ezeamii out of the game, the Eagles were able to creep back into the game and tie it up late. However, Ezeamii came back and Central was unable to find their shooting touch, falling late 76-70.
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In the loss, four players finished in double-figures, with Ron Lee leading the way with 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting. Lee shot 8-for-16 beyond the three-point arc. Scott Stegeman finished with 13 points and a team high 11 rebounds.
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The Eagles hit the road for a three-game roadtrip, beginning Wednesday at Culver-Stockton College at 7:30pm. CMU won't return to Fayette until February 13th, when they host Grand View University at 4pm.
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For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles. �������
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