CMU men's basketball beats BGSU to hold first spot in West
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — CMU men’s basketball coach Ernie Zeigler did not feel like his team played as well defensively as it could have in Thursday’s loss at Miami.
The team responded Saturday, holding Bowling Green to 38.2 percent shooting en route to a 62-54 win Saturday in Anderson Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio, in front of 2,222.
In constrast, Miami shot 54.5 percent in the second half of Thursday’s game, where CMU lost 64-51 in the first game of a two-game road trip against MAC East schools.
“I thought our veterans really came out and responded from the previous game at Miami, where we didn’t play as we could play defensively,” Zeigler said. “I thought we really had good focus, a sense of purpose, and it put us in position to secure a hard-fought road win.”
The win secured the team’s spot in sole possession of first place in the MAC West with a 5-2 conference record.
“It was a real big win,” said junior forward Jalin Thomas. “After last game, we felt like we underachieved. The coaches felt like we didn’t come out hard enough, so we wanted to come out on the road and get this win.”
Ball State (5-3) is a half game back after winning Sunday at Ohio and Northern Illinois (4-3) sits one game behind.
First half
CMU and BGSU went back and forth in the first half. But with 9:28 remaining in the first half and the Falcons up 16-13, the Chippewas took control.
The team went on a 15-1 run, holding BGSU scoreless at one point for 4 minutes, 29 seconds, and took a 28-17 lead with 2:51 remaining in the first. BGSU scored the final four points, closing the lead to 28-21 at the half. CMU held the Falcons to 34.6 percent shooting, while it shot 36.7. Bowling Green outrebounded Central 20-17.
Senior guard Jordan Bitzer and junior guard Antonio Weary each scored seven points in the half. CMU held BGSU sophomore forward Scott Thomas, who averaged 11.7 points per game coming into Saturday, to 0-for-6 shooting from the field in the half and one point.
Control
In the second half, CMU maintained its control. The team had a pair of 10-0 runs during the half, leading by as many as 20 points.
“We were able to get out in transition,” Zeigler said. “Our defense fueled our offense. “ Thomas finished with a double-double for CMU (16 points and 10 rebounds).
“Jalin’s just a warrior,” Zeigler said. “He’s been battling back from those concussion-like symptoms, and you just really saw him getting back to the Jalin Thomas that we saw here early in the non-conference season.”
Bitzer finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Chris Kellermann also scored in double figures, finishing with 10.
BGSU’s Thomas finished the game with 13 points, but was 5-of-15 from the field and 0-for-4 from 3-point range.
Senior forward Erik Marschall scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. CMU held BGSU to 1-of-11 shooting from the 3-point line.
“We just wanted to pressure them, not give them not much space.” Bitzer said. CMU is 3-1 against the Falcons and 2-0 in Bowling Green under Zeigler.
CMU (10-9, 5-2 MAC) plays Buffalo (11-7, 4-3 MAC) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Rose Arena. That game starts a three-game home streak against MAC East schools. The team hosts Kent State on Saturday and Akron on Feb. 9. The three teams are tops in the MAC East.
“It’s going to be huge,” Thomas said. “Coach (Zeigler) is always stressing about protecting our house, and that’s exactly what we got to do.”
