Austin's 23-points leads C. Michigan past Sam Houston St.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Larry Austin Jr. scored 23 points, distributed seven assists and collected six rebounds and Central Michigan turned it on in the second half to beat Sam Houston State 81-65 on Wednesday.

Austin filled the state line shooting 8 of 12 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the foul line despite seven turnovers.

Sam Houston State outscored the Chippewas 19-9 in a little more than the last eight minutes of the first half for a 39-30 lead. After halftime, Central Michigan (6-1) put together a 15-5 run and took a 45-44 lead on Kevin McKay's layup with 12:16 remaining. Josh Delaney tied it with a 3 for the Bearkats to make it 50-all, but Shawn Roundtree made back-to-back 3-pointers and David DiLeo added a 3 and the Chippewas led 59-50. Cameron Delaney made a 3-pointer to narrow the deficit to six but Sam Houston State (3-5) never got closer.

McKay scored 18 points, Roundtree, 14 and DiLeo 10.

Chad Bowie led the Bearkats with 21 points and seven rebounds and Cameron Delaney scored 13.