Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Win Another on the Road, 67-64, at NIU
1/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
DeKALB, Ill. – Giordan Watson scored 28 points and hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to lift Central Michigan University to a 67-64 come-from-behind road win at Northern Illinois on Saturday.
The Chippewas (7-8, 2-1 Mid-American) trailed by 12 early in the second half before Marko Spica sparked CMU by scoring eight straight points and giving the visitors their first lead of the second half, 51-49, with 7:45 left.
An open Jordan Bitzer three-pointer with 1:44 left broke a 62-62 tie but NIU (4-11, 1-2 Mid-American) cut the Chippewa lead back to one with a pair of free throws by Shaun Logan with just 52 ticks left on the clock.
On CMU’s next possession, Watson ran the shot clock down but his jumper was off the mark. The ball was batted around and the Chippewas secured the rebound and got it back to Watson who was fouled. He hit the first free throw to make it a two-point game and NIU called a timeout before the MAC’s second-leading free throw shooter hit the second freebie to bump it back up to a three-point cushion.
Following a CMU timeout, NIU had seven seconds to bring the ball up court and Zach Pancratz’s potential game-tying three-pointer was off the mark.
“We saw our team become tougher tonight,” coach Ernie Zeigler said. “We kept battling and fighting for possessions. We are watching this team get better right before our eyes.
“NIU had seven offensive rebounds in the first half and that contributed to them having an eight-point lead at the break. I challenged our guys at halftime to get on the defensive boards and NIU only had one offensive rebound in the second half. Our ability to get on the defensive boards put us in a position to hold them to one shot in the second half and that allowed us to come back.”
The Chippewas outrebounded NIU 21-8 in the second half and CMU was perfect from the line in late frame as well, going 10-for-10 from the stripe.
CMU held a 37-26 overall edge on the boards and shot .889 (16-for-18) from the line compared to NIU’s .714 (20-for-28).
Spica finished with a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
“Marko stepped up for us like I knew he could from when I first saw him in Belgrade,” Zeigler said. “Hopefully he can begin to play with some consistency for us.”
Logan, a JUCO transfer, led NIU with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. He was 11-for-12 from the line. Mike McKinney and James Hughes had 15 and 10 points, respectively for the home team.
The win was CMU’s third straight on the road and the Chippewas will look to add a fourth on Tuesday night, Jan. 16, when they travel to rival Western Michigan. Tipoff in University Arena is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised throughout Michigan on Comcast Local.
NOTES:
• In addition to hitting the big three-pointer with just under two minutes left, Jordan Bitzer pulled down a career-high seven rebounds, one shy of the team high.
• Giordan Watson’s three-pointer with 7:34 remaining in the first half was his 100th career trey. He tallied four in the game to bring his career total up to 103. With another five three-pointers, the junior will move into ninth on CMU’s career three-pointers chart.
• CMU has won three straight road games for the first time since winning four in a row on the road during the 2003 MAC championship campaign.
• Giordan Watson moved up to seventh on CMU’s career assist list. He now has 292 career helpers.
• CMU had a 25-23 lead with 2:43 left in the first half but the Huskies closed the frame on an 11-1 run to take an eight-point lead at the break.
• The Chippewas have won their first two MAC road games for just the second time ever. The only other time CMU accomplished the feat was the MAC championship season of 1976-77 when the Chippewas won at Ball State and Miami, both by two-point margins.
• With one more road victory this season, CMU will match its overall road win total from the last three years combined (four).
• CMU was +11 on the boards, outrebounding NIU, 37-26. It marked the third time this season the Chippewas had a double-digit rebounding edge. CMU is 3-0 when outrebounding the opponent by 10 or more. The Chippewas have outrebounded their opponent in 11 of the 15 games.
• CMU improved to 4-2 in games decided by six points or less.
