GAME NOTES: Looking to extend their five-game win streak, the Central Michigan Chippewas will hit the road for the first time this season to face the Bradley Braves in a non-conference clash at Renaissance Coliseum.

Central Michigan is a perfect 5-0 to start the season, just one year after finishing at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference. It's still very early, but the Chippewas have looked strong, especially when holding off Grand Canyon, 79-77, in their most recent outing.

Bradley comes into this contest having lost two games in a row to drop the team to 2-4 on the season. The team faltered in the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic, losing back-to-back games against TCU (57-49) and Saint Louis (60-57).

These two programs have met a total of four times on the court. Bradley owns a 3-1 all-time series advantage in a series that began during the 2002 campaign.

Grand Canyon outshot Central Michigan in the Chippewas' last contest, as they allowed GCU to connect on 57.4 percent of its field goal tries in the game. But the Chippewas owned a four-point lead at halftime that proved to be just enough to escape with the eventual two-point win. Chris Fowler led all CMU scorers with 26 points in the clash, adding in four assists to his stat line. John Simons contributed 21 points and seven rebounds, while Rayshawn Simmons netted 10 points to round out the team's double-digit scorers.

The Chippewas this season are led by Fowler and Simons, who are the only two players on the squad that enter the game averaging scoring totals in double figures. Fowler has a slight edge in scoring over Simons, 13.6 ppg to 13.4 ppg, while the sophomore guard also averages an impressive 7.4 apg. Simons has pulled down a team-best 6.6 rpg for the Chippewas, and has six steals through five games. CMU is averaging an impressive 82.2 ppg, but is limiting opponents to an even more impressive 59.0 ppg.

Bradley held a 34-27 lead over Saint Louis, which made it to the NCAA Tournament last season, at the half, but the Braves couldn't support the lead all the way through in the eventual three-point loss. Warren Jones netted a team-best 17 points for Bradley in the game, while Auston Barnes contributed 12 points with nine rebounds. Josh Cunningham added in 11 points with seven boards and four turnovers to round out the double-digit scorers for the Braves in the contest.

Jones leads a trio of scorers in double-digit point averages this season for Bradley, notching 12.8 ppg to top the team. Barnes, who missed a pair of games earlier this season, adds 12.0 ppg, followed by Omari Grier's 10.8 ppg. Cunningham leads the Braves entering the contest with CMU grabbing 6.2 rpg, while Ka'Darryl Bell comes in with a team-best 24 assists. The Braves haven't been very strong offensively, netting 58.7 ppg through six games played, while allowing 59.8 ppg to opponents.

This will be Central Michigan's first chance on the road to prove that the Chippewas are more than advertised. They get a tough first road matchup at Bradley, but the Braves haven't been excellent on the offensive end. If Fowler and Simons are on their game, the Chippewas should improve to a perfect 6-0 before they return home again.