Central Michigan survives late scare to take home the final Shootout championship

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Central Michigan celebrates their win over Bakersfield in the championship game of the 2017 Great Alaska Shootout basketball Tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017. Central Michigan defeated Bakersfield 75-72. (Bob Hallinen / ADN)

Thirty-one years after his father won a Great Alaska Shootout championship, Central Michigan men's basketball coach Keno Davis and his Chippewas are the champions of the tournament's 40th and final edition.

Central Michigan made enough free throws late to fend off Cal State-Bakersfield 75-72 and claim the GCI Shootout title Saturday in front of nearly 4,000 fans at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Davis was in 8th grade when he watched his dad, Tom Davis, coach Iowa to the '86 Shootout championship at Sullivan Arena. Three decades later, Davis hoisted the last Shootout gold pan championship trophy.

"It's such a historic tournament, to be just a part of it is something our players (and) our fans are going to remember — going to the Great Alaska Shootout," Davis said. "Not only to be able to be here, but to play well and to be able to have a championship is something they'll remember for a long, long time."

The Chippewas (5-1) led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but they had to hold off the Roadrunners (4-3) in the game's closing moments.

Tournament MVP Shawn Roundtree scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the second half and made a pair of free throws that put the Chippewas up 74-72 with less than two minutes remaining.

Central Michigan added another free throw by sophomore forward David DiLeo and held Bakersfield off the scoreboard for the final three minutes of the game.

"I think the main thing (was) just staying composed," said Roundtree, a 6-foot guard who battled a nasty cold all tournament. "I think we did a good job of executing down at the end and staying together, and riding the whole game out."

On the final possession, Bakersfield put the ball in the hands of red-hot senior Damiyne Durham, but his 3-point attempt grazed the front of the net at the buzzer. It was a rare miss for Durham, who racked up a game-high 24 points and buried 6 of 12 shots from beyond the arc.

[After 40 years of Thanksgiving week hoops, Great Alaska Shootout is history]

Both teams shot well from 3-point land, where Bakersfield went 10 of 27 and Central Michigan went 10 of 23. Six players hit 3s for the Chippewas, who led NCAA Division I 3-pointers last season with 399 on the season.

DiLeo, a 6-7 forward, went 4 of 9 from long range and scored 13 points to lead Central Michigan's sharpshooters.

Center Luke Meyer registered 14 points, including two triples, and forward Cecil Williams tallied 12 points and four assists to round out Central Michigan's double-digit scorers.

Durham, Rickey Holden (15 points) and Justin Davis (13) paced the Roadrunners.

Bakersfield coach Rod Barnes said Central Michigan's depth on the perimeter cause problems for the Roadrunners' pressure defense.

"The way they played is really tough for us because they spread guys out," he said. "They have big guys who can shoot on the perimeter, but I thought our kids hung in there, showed a lot of toughness."

Bakersfield's second-place finish equals the highest finish in the Shootout by a Western Athletic Conference team. BYU was in the WAC in 1994 when it lost the title game to Minnesota.

Central Michigan's championship was the first for a team from the Mid American Conference.

It was the second appearance in the tournament for the team from Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The Chippewas finished fourth in the 2011 Shootout.

March Madness is still four months away, but Davis said the tournament had a March feel to it with many of the games coming down to the closing moments.

In the semifinals, Central Michigan edged Cal Poly 56-53 on a game-winning 3-pointer by Roundtree and Bakersfield beat Idaho 64-62 on a trey by Justin Davis.

"I think the overriding factor for us was that we played extremely hard, not just tonight in championship, but we needed to play hard for three straight games," Keno Davis said. "To be able to go through that and win is extra special."

All-Tournament team
MVP: Shawn Roundtree, Central Michigan
Shon Briggs, Cal State-Bakersfield
Perrion Callandret, Idaho
Joe Chealey, College of Charleston
Chris Galbreath Jr., Sam Houston State
Rickey Holden, Cal State-Bakersfield
Luke Meyer, Central Michigan
Victor Joseph, Cal Poly
Jacob Lampkin, UAA
Victor Sanders, Idaho
Cecil Williams, Central Michigan