Monday, November 15
Charleston, Ill.
8 p.m.
Central Michigan University
1-2,0-0MAC
62
at
61
Eastern Illinois
0-3,0-0OVC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
29
33
62
Eastern Ill.
42
19
61
First Win Comes In Dramatic Fashion
11/15/2021 10:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CMU men overcome 20-point deficit, win at the buzzer
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The first one was a memorable one.
Jermaine Jackson Jr.'s buzzer-beating layup lifted the Central Michigan men's basketball team to a dramatic 62-61 victory over Eastern Illinois on Monday at the Cougars' Lantz Arena.
It was the first win of the season for the Chippewas (1-2) and for first-year coach Tony Barbee as his team overcame a 20-point first-half deficit.
"What a comeback," Barbee said. "The guys fought. To go on the road against a team that was desperate for a win and to get down that big and to see the guys fight back like that, to scrap and claw in the second half – we did a lot of great things.
"This wasn't an easy one. … The team needed to feel a little success. That win now kind of takes the pressure off; I always say this, you want to learn from close wins; you don't want the moral victories. Let's learn from putting W's on the board."
Jackson and Cameron Healy scored 14 points apiece to lead the Chippewas, while Kevin Miller added 11, and Harrison Henderson had 10.
CMU trailed, 32-12, with under seven minutes to play in the first half and was down, 42-29, at halftime. The Chippewas worked their way back into it with defense, outscoring the Cougars, 33-19, over the final 20 minutes.
The Chippewas were still down 10, 53-43, with just over seven minutes remaining and finally seized the lead – their first since 3-2 early in the game – on a Kevin Miller pullup with 1:47 remaining, making it 60-58.
CJ Lane hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with under 3 seconds to play to put Eastern Illinois back in front, 61-60, setting the stage for CMU's final dramatics.
Jack Webb inbounded from under the basket after Lane's triple, launching a baseball pass to the 6-foot-11 Henderson who was stationed at the free throw line, three-fourths of the way down the court.
The heavily guarded Henderson went up for the ball, which bounded off his hands and those of an Eastern Illinois defender. The loose ball came to Jackson on the right side. Jackson streaked to the basket and laid it in as the buzzer sounded.
"The old Christian Laettner pass up to Harrison," Barbee said, evoking memories of one of the most-storied plays in college basketball history. "When you have plays like that it takes a little luck, and it takes a lot of belief in the team.
"Jack comes in and throws a great pass. Harrison did a great job of high pointing it. It kind of got knocked away, but because (Jackson) did his job -- he didn't stop and watch -- he was in the right place at the right time. Needed a little luck, but we also executed in that moment too."
The Chippewas employed a zone defense throughout the second half to take the Cougars out of their rhythm. CMU finally got the sustained run it had been chasing all night, using a 13-3 spurt to seize the lead on Miller's shot with 1:47 left.
"I talk to the guys about not letting what's happening on the offensive end of the floor dictate your fight," Barbee said. "There's nothing that controls that but you and tonight I thought we had a chance to hang our heads and go away and they fought their tails off.
"The biggest thing was the zone. We couldn't guard them man to man. They were driving us, they were throwing the ball inside. It was a tale of two halves."
Sammy Friday IV, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, led Eastern Illinois with 12 points, all of which came at the rim or at the free throw line. All of his points came in the first half when he made four of his five field goal attempts. He attempted just one field goal in the second half as CMU forced the Cougars outside. They made just three of their 14 second-half 3-point attempts.
"The zone does funny things to people," Barbee said. "It worked to our advantage tonight and the biggest thing was I thought we rebounded well out of the zone. Even though we lost the rebound battle overall, I thought in the second half we did a great job … we had a gang of guys by the rim corralling the defensive rebounds that limited their offensive rebounds in the second half."
Jermaine Jackson Jr.'s buzzer-beating layup lifted the Central Michigan men's basketball team to a dramatic 62-61 victory over Eastern Illinois on Monday at the Cougars' Lantz Arena.
It was the first win of the season for the Chippewas (1-2) and for first-year coach Tony Barbee as his team overcame a 20-point first-half deficit.
"What a comeback," Barbee said. "The guys fought. To go on the road against a team that was desperate for a win and to get down that big and to see the guys fight back like that, to scrap and claw in the second half – we did a lot of great things.
"This wasn't an easy one. … The team needed to feel a little success. That win now kind of takes the pressure off; I always say this, you want to learn from close wins; you don't want the moral victories. Let's learn from putting W's on the board."
Jackson and Cameron Healy scored 14 points apiece to lead the Chippewas, while Kevin Miller added 11, and Harrison Henderson had 10.
CMU trailed, 32-12, with under seven minutes to play in the first half and was down, 42-29, at halftime. The Chippewas worked their way back into it with defense, outscoring the Cougars, 33-19, over the final 20 minutes.
The Chippewas were still down 10, 53-43, with just over seven minutes remaining and finally seized the lead – their first since 3-2 early in the game – on a Kevin Miller pullup with 1:47 remaining, making it 60-58.
CJ Lane hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with under 3 seconds to play to put Eastern Illinois back in front, 61-60, setting the stage for CMU's final dramatics.
Jack Webb inbounded from under the basket after Lane's triple, launching a baseball pass to the 6-foot-11 Henderson who was stationed at the free throw line, three-fourths of the way down the court.
The heavily guarded Henderson went up for the ball, which bounded off his hands and those of an Eastern Illinois defender. The loose ball came to Jackson on the right side. Jackson streaked to the basket and laid it in as the buzzer sounded.
"The old Christian Laettner pass up to Harrison," Barbee said, evoking memories of one of the most-storied plays in college basketball history. "When you have plays like that it takes a little luck, and it takes a lot of belief in the team.
"Jack comes in and throws a great pass. Harrison did a great job of high pointing it. It kind of got knocked away, but because (Jackson) did his job -- he didn't stop and watch -- he was in the right place at the right time. Needed a little luck, but we also executed in that moment too."
The Chippewas employed a zone defense throughout the second half to take the Cougars out of their rhythm. CMU finally got the sustained run it had been chasing all night, using a 13-3 spurt to seize the lead on Miller's shot with 1:47 left.
"I talk to the guys about not letting what's happening on the offensive end of the floor dictate your fight," Barbee said. "There's nothing that controls that but you and tonight I thought we had a chance to hang our heads and go away and they fought their tails off.
"The biggest thing was the zone. We couldn't guard them man to man. They were driving us, they were throwing the ball inside. It was a tale of two halves."
Sammy Friday IV, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, led Eastern Illinois with 12 points, all of which came at the rim or at the free throw line. All of his points came in the first half when he made four of his five field goal attempts. He attempted just one field goal in the second half as CMU forced the Cougars outside. They made just three of their 14 second-half 3-point attempts.
"The zone does funny things to people," Barbee said. "It worked to our advantage tonight and the biggest thing was I thought we rebounded well out of the zone. Even though we lost the rebound battle overall, I thought in the second half we did a great job … we had a gang of guys by the rim corralling the defensive rebounds that limited their offensive rebounds in the second half."
Team Stats
CMU
EIU
FG%
.424
.404
3FG%
.360
.320
FT%
.250
.611
RB
36
42
TO
11
17
STL
11
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
MBB Sign Video
Wednesday, July 23
MBB Insider - 6.13.25
Friday, June 13
Men's Basketball Summer Practice 1
Thursday, June 12
Men's Basketball Move-In Day
Friday, June 06