Central Michigan University Athletics
Fast Start Paces CMU Past UC Irvine, 82-72
11/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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ANCHORAGE - Olivier Mbaigoto scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Central Michigan won its second-round game of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout, defeating UC Irvine, 82-72.
The Chippewas (3-2) led by a dozen in the first four minutes of the game, holding the Anteaters (0-5) scoreless until the 15:51 mark, and they never trailed as UC Irvine became the fifth CMU opponent this year to shoot under 40 percent from the field.
"We came out with an extreme sense of purpose after (the loss) yesterday," said head coach Ernie Zeigler, "and we were able to sustain that for the most part throughout the game. Irvine is a team that doesn't let up, they don't quit, and we kept taking their best shot and we showed some resiliency."
Mbaigoto's three-pointer three minutes into the game gave the Chippewas a 12-0 lead and put the Anteaters in a hole too large to overcome. He hit his first four attempts to help Central Michigan build as much as a 17-point first-half lead, 38-21, with 4:17 remaining.
"There was a fire lit. We were embarrassed last night," said Zeigler. "We felt like we quit at times last night when we were challenged. Today we responded by coming out with a good start."
Mbaigoto, who was named the Carrs/Safeway Player of the Game, went on to shoot 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-6 from long range, for 14 points before halftime, as the Chippewas took a 43-31 advantage into the locker room.
Their second-half lead remained at double digits and grew as large as 19, 67-48, with 5:52 left. The Anteaters crawled within 10 with a 12-3 run over the next 3:20, but the Chippewas hit six of their next eight free throw attempts to seal the win.
The Anteaters were held to just 31.9 percent from the field, hitting 23 of their 72 attempts. The Chippewas shot 43 percent (27-63) from the floor and an even 50 percent (11-22) from long range.
"Probably the most consistent thing we've done in the first five games is we've had a pretty good defensive presence in terms of contesting shots," Zeigler said. "Even last night we did some of the things defensively that we were trying to do but we weren't tough enough to keep them off the offensive glass. For us it's about getting a little bit better each night. We've been out-rebounded three consecutive games and that was a point of focus for us today and we were able to pull even on the boards."
Perhaps more impressive was the team's stat line of eight steals, nine blocks and 20 assists, on 27 field goals, while committing just 12 turnovers.
Not to be lost in the scoring column, Trey Zeigler added 21 points, 13 of which came in the second half, on 8-of-17 shooting.
Derek Jackson led all players with seven assists, without committing a turnover, and Austin McBroom contributed five assists with just one turnover. Andre Coimbra added four blocks.
The Chippewas will face Dartmouth Saturday at 6 p.m. EST.
