MIAMI, Fla. – In the 47-year history of the Flagler College men's basketball program, not once did the Saints beat an NCAA Division I opponent. Tonight that changed with a 92-73 rout of Central Michigan University at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

Flagler evened its record to 1-1 while Central Michigan, a member of the Mid-American Conference, remained winless at 0-3.

"I am really happy for our guys," said head coach Chad Warner. "I appreciate how they are playing with joy and competing together. We certainly caught Central Michigan at the right time as they had to play back-to-back nights."

Chris Metzger poured in a career-high 26 points on 13-of-15 shooting from the floor and he grabbed seven rebounds to lead Flagler. Jaizec Lottie added 19 points and dished out a game-high seven assists. Jalen Barr came off the bench to record a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Barr made 7-of-8 from the field. Derrick Ellis, Jr. contributed eight points and five assists.

Lottie's three-pointer with 4:54 left in the first half helped spark a 9-2 spurt where the Saints started to pull away. Barr's layup capped the run and gave Flagler a 37-26 lead.

Flagler held a 43-30 lead at the half.

The Saints lead grew to as many as 25 in the second half.

Flagler shot 56.7 percent (37-67) from the field in the game and shot a sizzling 63.6 percent (21-33) in the second half alone. The Saints enjoyed a 60-22 scoring advantage in the paint thanks to a 75 percent (30-40) shooting percentage in the lane.   

Travon Broadway, Jr. led the Chippewas with 17 points while Matt Beachler added 13 more.

"We will enjoy our bus ride home tonight," added Warner, "but we have a long way to go. We look forward to that journey."

Flagler takes on another Division I opponent, Furman University, on Dec. 12 at Greenville, South Carolina. That will be an exhibition game for the Saints.

NOTES: Flagler becomes the third NCAA Division II school to defeat a member of NCAA Division I in a regular season game this year. Queens University of Charlotte defeated Howard University on Nov. 27 (85-71) and Emmanuel College of Georgia edged Stetson University on Nov. 30 (64-61). Queens' victory came in a tournament at Washington, D.C. and Emmanuel's win was at DeLand, Florida...The last times these two teams met was Dec. 22, 1983 at Mount Pleasant, Michigan with Central Michigan winning 100-64...The last Peach Belt Conference team to defeat a D1 school in the regular season was on Nov. 14, 1997 when Francis Marion University was victorious over The Citadel (66-58), at Charleston, South Carolina.
 
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