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, Michigan. 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. 

It was announced last Wednesday that after jumping out to an 11-2 record in their first 13 games this season, the Central Methodist men's basketball team had entered the Top 25 poll for the first time in 2021 at No. 20. 

Other Heart programs featured or mentioned in the Top 25 include No. 5 William Penn and Evangel, which received votes. 

Heading into the Holiday Classic, Central was riding a three-game winning streak including a win over William Penn at home on December 8. William Penn was ranked third in the NAIA at the time. With a 3-1 mark in conference play, the Eagles sat atop the Heart South standings.

Central is averaging 82 points per game and has held eight of its opponents to 65 points or less on the 2021-22 season.

With the split in Michigan over the weekend, Central now stands at 12-3 overall. 

After dropping the opener on Friday to Rochester, 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, Georgia native recorded a triple-double with 17 points and team-highs of 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He is the first Eagle since 2003 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. Sophomore 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.

On Friday 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. 

Sophomore 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. Junior Dwayne McClendon nearly cracked double figures with eight points including one 3-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. 

With the games in Michigan, the Eagles concluded their non-conference slate, and will next see action against Benedictine College Sunday, January 2 at 4 p.m. at Puckett Field House.