Central Michigan University Athletics
Men's Basketball Earns Big Win over Miami, 57-55
2/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT Third time really is a charm.
After two straight second half leads became tight losses, the Central Michigan men’s basketball team was able to hold on for a 57-55 victory over Miami University at Rose Arena on Tuesday.
With the win, the Chippewas snap a 13-game losing streak against the RedHawks and a three-game skid overall.
CMU improves to 7-15, 4-6 in the Mid-American Conference.
After going back and forth in the early stages of the first half, the RedHawks held a 21-13 lead with 9:02 remaining in the opening stanza. The Chippewas fought back into the game, thanks to 13 points by Marcus Van to pull to within one, 28-27, at halftime.
“Marcus is a warrior,” head coach Ernie Zeigler said. “He is a senior who has battled a lot of adversity. He is playing every game like it is his last.”
Central’s momentum carried into the second half as Antonio Weary began the frame with a jumper that beat the shot clock to put the team ahead. The CMU defense held MU without a field goal for the first 6:40 of the second half to build a 39-31 lead.
After a timeout, Miami began climbing back into the game and regained the lead at 49-47. The sight has been familiar to Central as it has seen late leads disappear against Buffalo and Bowling Green in its past two contests.
“I felt we have played well in our last few games without getting results,” Zeigler said. “We battled Buffalo and Bowling Green in our past two games, but lost. I felt that our will to win really came through at the end of this one. We were not going to let it happen again.”
The Chippewas came back to tie the game twice, but the RedHawks once again went in front by a score of 53-51 with 3:26 remaining.
Undeterred, Jordan Bitzer began to take the game over. He helped CMU get a stop by stealing a pass with 2:32 remaining and drained a critical three-pointer with 2:16 remaining out of a media timeout to put Central in front 54-53. Miami answered again on the ensuing possession when Tyler Dierkers made a layup to put the RedHawks on top, 55-54 with 1:47 left.
CMU got the ball back with under a minute remaining and Zeigler called Bitzer’s number again out of a timeout. The junior hit a contested jumper in the lane with 32 ticks left on the clock to put CMU back in front, 56-55.
The Central defense stood tall on the final possession, forcing a miss and closing out the game at the foul line to pull out the victory.
Van and Bitzer both ended in double figures. Van scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half and went 8-for-10 at the free throw line, while Bitzer scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half on 4-for-8 shooting (3-for-5 from deep).
Miami’s Michael Bramos led all scorers with 24 points and Tyler Dierkers also poured in double digits with 10 points.
Miami shot 57.9 percent from the floor and 60 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-5) compared to Central’s .422 clip and 40 percent shooting from long range. The RedHawks also owned a slight 23-22 edge in rebounding.
However, the Chippewas won the game with their prowess at the line. CMU made 81.3 percent (13-for-16) from the charity stripe while Miami went 8-for-15 (53.3 percent). Central also forced 16 Miami turnovers while coughing it up only 11 times.
CMU is off until Saturday night when it travels to Kent State. The game tips off at 7 p.m.
After two straight second half leads became tight losses, the Central Michigan men’s basketball team was able to hold on for a 57-55 victory over Miami University at Rose Arena on Tuesday.
With the win, the Chippewas snap a 13-game losing streak against the RedHawks and a three-game skid overall.
CMU improves to 7-15, 4-6 in the Mid-American Conference.
After going back and forth in the early stages of the first half, the RedHawks held a 21-13 lead with 9:02 remaining in the opening stanza. The Chippewas fought back into the game, thanks to 13 points by Marcus Van to pull to within one, 28-27, at halftime.
“Marcus is a warrior,” head coach Ernie Zeigler said. “He is a senior who has battled a lot of adversity. He is playing every game like it is his last.”
Central’s momentum carried into the second half as Antonio Weary began the frame with a jumper that beat the shot clock to put the team ahead. The CMU defense held MU without a field goal for the first 6:40 of the second half to build a 39-31 lead.
After a timeout, Miami began climbing back into the game and regained the lead at 49-47. The sight has been familiar to Central as it has seen late leads disappear against Buffalo and Bowling Green in its past two contests.
“I felt we have played well in our last few games without getting results,” Zeigler said. “We battled Buffalo and Bowling Green in our past two games, but lost. I felt that our will to win really came through at the end of this one. We were not going to let it happen again.”
The Chippewas came back to tie the game twice, but the RedHawks once again went in front by a score of 53-51 with 3:26 remaining.
Undeterred, Jordan Bitzer began to take the game over. He helped CMU get a stop by stealing a pass with 2:32 remaining and drained a critical three-pointer with 2:16 remaining out of a media timeout to put Central in front 54-53. Miami answered again on the ensuing possession when Tyler Dierkers made a layup to put the RedHawks on top, 55-54 with 1:47 left.
CMU got the ball back with under a minute remaining and Zeigler called Bitzer’s number again out of a timeout. The junior hit a contested jumper in the lane with 32 ticks left on the clock to put CMU back in front, 56-55.
The Central defense stood tall on the final possession, forcing a miss and closing out the game at the foul line to pull out the victory.
Van and Bitzer both ended in double figures. Van scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half and went 8-for-10 at the free throw line, while Bitzer scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half on 4-for-8 shooting (3-for-5 from deep).
Miami’s Michael Bramos led all scorers with 24 points and Tyler Dierkers also poured in double digits with 10 points.
Miami shot 57.9 percent from the floor and 60 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-5) compared to Central’s .422 clip and 40 percent shooting from long range. The RedHawks also owned a slight 23-22 edge in rebounding.
However, the Chippewas won the game with their prowess at the line. CMU made 81.3 percent (13-for-16) from the charity stripe while Miami went 8-for-15 (53.3 percent). Central also forced 16 Miami turnovers while coughing it up only 11 times.
CMU is off until Saturday night when it travels to Kent State. The game tips off at 7 p.m.
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