Matthew Garber had a big offensive night, and Caiden Punt posted a double-double, but it wasn't enough for Kansas Wesleyan to overcome a first-half lull and Central Methodist's two-head scoring monster.
Isaiah Reams and Raphael Gay combined for 54 points in leading CMU to an 82-70 victory in the Coyote Classic on Saturday night inside Mabee Arena.
Garber, a Sabetha native and transfer from Cloud County, led KWU with 18 points while Punt, a transfer from Central Oklahoma, had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman point guard Brandon Avedon added 11 points, nine in the second half.
Punt's field goal with 10:20 left in the first half gave the Coyotes a 22-17 lead but the Eagles (3-1) responded with an 18-3 run over the next eight minutes and led 35-25 with 2:22 left before halftime. Wesleyan trailed 39-30 at the break.
Garber's 3-pointer at the 10:08 mark ignited a 7-0 Coyote burst that trimmed the deficit to 56-51 with 8:52 remaining. Central Methodist, though, regained control by tallying 12 of the next 17 points for a 68-56 lead with 4:37 left. KWU (0-2) got no closer than nine (72-63) at the 3:00 mark.
Reams scored 17 points and Gay 11 in the second half while Tommie Williams finished with 10 rebounds, eight points, four assists and four steals. CMU shot 50.8 percent for the game (30 of 59), scored 23 points off 15 Coyote turnovers and committed 11 turnovers.
Garber was 4 of 7 beyond the 3-point arc, 5 of 9 shooting overall and had three assists and three rebounds. KWU shot 39.7 percent (23 of 58) including 7 of 20 from long range, won the rebounding battle 36-32 and had 13 second chance points to the Eagles' four.