Livonia, Mich. - The No. 20 Central Methodist men's basketball team came out with a two-game split in the Madonna Holiday Classic on Friday and Saturday in Livonia, Mich.
The Eagles opened the Classic with a 72-54 loss to Rochester on Friday, before bouncing back with a 69-63 win over host school Madonna Saturday.
Central now stands at 12-3 overall.
Against the Warriors of Rochester, the Eagles trailed only by three at the halftime break, 30-27, before being outscored by 15 in the second in the defeat.
Freshman forward Thomas Sowoolu led the CMU offense with a career-high 15 points on six-of-seven shooting from the field. He also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to earn a double-double.
Jonathan Brown was the only other Eagle to land in double figures, as the native from London, England tallied 13 points in 37 minutes of action. Dwayne McClendon nearly cracked double figures with eight points including one three-point basket.
Both sides were even on the glass with 33 rebounds each, but the Warriors converted on 44.4-percent of their field goal attempts, while the Eagles finished the evening at just 35.1-percent.
CMU bounced back Saturday with a gutsy 69-63 victory over Madonna. The Eagles once again found themselves trailing at halftime, 39-34. Central would respond with a strong second half push, outscoring the Crusaders 35-24 to earn the six-point win.
Senior guard Tim Cameron highlighted the evening for the Eagles, as the Norcross, Ga. native recorded a triple double with 15 rebounds, and a team-high 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He is the first Eagle since at least the 2003 season to record a triple double for CMU. He also added four steals and finished the evening shooting seven-of-12 from the floor to cap an outstanding showing.
Brown led the scoring effort for the Eagles with 17 points, along with six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Isaiah May was the final Eagle to land in double-figures with 12 points, which included two three-point baskets.
Central controlled the battle of the boards, with 37 rebounds including 12 on the offensive glass. The Crusaders tallied just 28 rebounds.
The Eagles conclude their non-conference slate, and will next return to play against Benedictine College Sunday, Jan. 2 at 4:00 p.m. inside Puckett Field House.
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