Wednesday, November 23
San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
2-3,0-0MAC
82
vs
66
CSUN
1-4,0-0Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
23
43
66
Central Mich.
31
51
82
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Men's Basketball Defeats Cal State Northridge 82-66
11/23/2022 5:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Central Michigan holds CSUN to 35 percent shooting, Chippewas take control with a 9-0 run before halftime, maintain lead throughout second half; Jesse Zarzuela scores a career-high 21 points, Brian Taylor (19 points) and Kevin Miller (18 points) have key games and Carrington McCaskill registers first career double-double; Zarzuela named to All-Tournament Team.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif.—Central Michigan notched season-highs for field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage and buckled down on defense in registering an impressive 82-66 men's basketball win over Cal State Northridge Wednesday evening in the consolation game of the Venue Twin SoCal Challenge.
On offense, the Chippewas shot 55 percent from the floor (29-53), 43 percent from 3-point range (6-14), finished with 19 assists on 29 field goals, and scored 42 points in the paint. Defensively, the Chippewas held Cal State Northridge to 35 percent (21-60) shooting and scored 17 points off Matador turnovers.
Junior sharpshooter Jesse Zarzuela led the Chippewas with a career-high 21 points as he converted 8-13 field goals and 4-7 3- pointers. Senior guard/forward Brian Taylor contributed a career-high 19 points on 8-15 shooting and four rebounds, and junior forward Carrington McCaskill recorded first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore point guard Kevin Miller made his return after missing Monday's game against High Point. He finished the day with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds in a full 40 minutes of action.
Later on, Zarzuela was named to the Venue Twin SoCal Challenge All-Tournament team after averaging 17.0 points through the two contests.
Central Michigan (2-3) took control in the first half with a 9-0 run and outscored CSUN 12-2 over the final 4:47 to take a 31-23 halftime lead. Zarzuela scored eight of CMU's final 12 points, including two 3-pointers and a layup. Zarzuela gave CMU the lead, 25-23, on a 3-pointer at the 3:50 mark, Miller followed with a layup, and Zarzuela scored on another layup with 40 seconds before the break. A McCaskill dunk made it 31-23 Central Michigan at the buzzer.
Central Michigan's offense was fueled by its defense in the first half as the Chippewas held CSUN to 17 percent shooting (9-35).
CMU never relinquished its lead throughout the second half. CSUN's Atin Wright hit a fast break 3-pointer to cut the Chippewas' lead down to three points at 37-34 with 16:42 to play, but that was as close as they came. The Chippewas answered with back-to-back layups by Miller and Taylor. Two minutes later, back-to-back layups by Miroslav Stafl, one on a pass from Zarzuela and the other on a fast break dish from Miller, pushed the lead back up to nine points (48-39) with 12:34 to play. Later, a 3-pointer by Miller gave CMU a 10-point lead with 10:04 to play.
With the productive offense, the Chippewas maintained its lead and held CSUN off the rest of way. Two Miller layups and a Taylor layup gave CMU a 14-point lead late in the game and the final score marked Central Michigan's largest lead of the day.
Wright led Cal State Northridge with 21 points on 5-12 shooting and 9-10 free throws, while De'Sean Allen-Eikens finished with 13 points.
Central Michigan will stay on the West Coast and is back in action on Saturday, Nov. 26 when it travels to Riverside, Calif. to take on California Baptist (3-2) for an 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT matchup. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
On offense, the Chippewas shot 55 percent from the floor (29-53), 43 percent from 3-point range (6-14), finished with 19 assists on 29 field goals, and scored 42 points in the paint. Defensively, the Chippewas held Cal State Northridge to 35 percent (21-60) shooting and scored 17 points off Matador turnovers.
Junior sharpshooter Jesse Zarzuela led the Chippewas with a career-high 21 points as he converted 8-13 field goals and 4-7 3- pointers. Senior guard/forward Brian Taylor contributed a career-high 19 points on 8-15 shooting and four rebounds, and junior forward Carrington McCaskill recorded first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore point guard Kevin Miller made his return after missing Monday's game against High Point. He finished the day with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds in a full 40 minutes of action.
Later on, Zarzuela was named to the Venue Twin SoCal Challenge All-Tournament team after averaging 17.0 points through the two contests.
Central Michigan (2-3) took control in the first half with a 9-0 run and outscored CSUN 12-2 over the final 4:47 to take a 31-23 halftime lead. Zarzuela scored eight of CMU's final 12 points, including two 3-pointers and a layup. Zarzuela gave CMU the lead, 25-23, on a 3-pointer at the 3:50 mark, Miller followed with a layup, and Zarzuela scored on another layup with 40 seconds before the break. A McCaskill dunk made it 31-23 Central Michigan at the buzzer.
Central Michigan's offense was fueled by its defense in the first half as the Chippewas held CSUN to 17 percent shooting (9-35).
CMU never relinquished its lead throughout the second half. CSUN's Atin Wright hit a fast break 3-pointer to cut the Chippewas' lead down to three points at 37-34 with 16:42 to play, but that was as close as they came. The Chippewas answered with back-to-back layups by Miller and Taylor. Two minutes later, back-to-back layups by Miroslav Stafl, one on a pass from Zarzuela and the other on a fast break dish from Miller, pushed the lead back up to nine points (48-39) with 12:34 to play. Later, a 3-pointer by Miller gave CMU a 10-point lead with 10:04 to play.
With the productive offense, the Chippewas maintained its lead and held CSUN off the rest of way. Two Miller layups and a Taylor layup gave CMU a 14-point lead late in the game and the final score marked Central Michigan's largest lead of the day.
Wright led Cal State Northridge with 21 points on 5-12 shooting and 9-10 free throws, while De'Sean Allen-Eikens finished with 13 points.
Central Michigan will stay on the West Coast and is back in action on Saturday, Nov. 26 when it travels to Riverside, Calif. to take on California Baptist (3-2) for an 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT matchup. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
CSUN
CMU
FG%
.350
.547
3FG%
.200
.429
FT%
.909
.857
RB
32
33
TO
11
12
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's Basketball
C
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