Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Open Road Trip with 67-57 Win at Pepperdine
11/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score | Photo Gallery
MALIBU, Calif. - Trey Zeigler led four Central Michigan players in double figures, scoring 16 points and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds, in the Chippewas' 67-57 win at Pepperdine.
The Chippewas (2-1) led from start to finish, by as many as eight on several occasions in the first half and by as many as 17 with three minutes remaining, thanks to hot shooting from the entire roster.
Central jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead and had an 11-3 advantage 5:20 into the contest.
The Wave (2-2) lived and died by the three, which kept them in contention, but the Chippewas responded every time with a quick transition basket to keep them at bay. The Chippewas went into the break with a 33-25 lead after shooting 13-of-25 (52.0%) and receiving balanced scoring from the entire lineup.
"We really took a step to get better tonight," said head coach Ernie Zeigler. "Defensively we were really good and tonight was a great collective effort. The guys were really locked in and focused from the beginning."
"We wanted to come out focused in the beginning," said Trey Zeigler. "All week in practice we were mentally focused, especially coming off of the (double-overtime) loss against Charlotte. We kept saying 'one more play, one more possession' and it would have been a different outcome."
Pepperdine cut its deficit to seven before the first media timeout of the second half, but the Chippewas came back with a three-pointer by Derek Jackson and never gave up their double-digit advantage.
Zeigler's 6-of-9 performance from the field sparked a team field goal percentage of 51.0 while the Chippewas' defense held its third consecutive opponent under 40 percent shooting. The Wave hit just 29.3 percent.
Four of Central's five starters reached double figures, including Derek Jackson who shot 4-of-5 from the floor to tally 12 points, and nine saw at least 13 minutes on the floor. Andre Coimbra added 11 points and Austin McBroom scored 10 in front of a hometown crowd.
"We have a lot of guys who can score," said Trey Zeigler, who added six assists to his line. "I was able to penetrate and look for the guys who had the open shots."
"Trey really let the game come to him tonight," said Ernie. "He didn't force things and he was able to finish around the basket. On the defensive end he grabbed some strong rebounds that created some fast break scores."
Central had advantages off turnovers (14-12), in the paint (26-14) and on fast breaks (14-6) but fell behind on second chance points (18-8), being out-rebounded 19-6 on the offensive glass and 43-29 overall.
Opening up their seven-game road trip with a victory, the Chippewas will leave for the Great Alaska Shootout early Tuesday morning.
Game notes:
- In both CMU wins this season the Chippewas never trailed in the game.
- Trey Zeigler tied a career high with six assists.
- Freshman Jorddan Myrick scored the first points of his collegiate career. He had six points including a 3-pointer.
- Trey Zeigler has scored in double figures in all three games this season, however, his double-double streak was ended at two straight games.
- The Chippewas have held their opponent under 40 percent shooting in all three games this season. Pepperdine shot just .293 from the field, the lowest by a Chippewa opponent since Central limited Ball State to just .244 shooting on Jan. 13, 2010.
- Four Chippewas were in double figures in the scoring column. CMU has had at least three players in twin figures in every game this season.
- Trey Ziegler scored in double figures for the 30th time of his career.
- The Chippewas won despite being outrebounded by 14, 43-29. It marked just the fifth time in Ernie Zeigler's six seasons that the Chippewas won despite being outrebounded by a double-digit margin.­­­
