Monday, November 4
Mobile, Ala./Mitchell Center
8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT
Central Michigan University
1-0,0-0MAC
74
at
70
South Alabama
0-1,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
F
Central Mich.
38
36
74
South Alabama
23
47
70
Team Stats
CMU
USA
FG%
.500
.472
3FG%
.290
.321
FT%
.765
.688
RB
32
27
TO
17
15
STL
11
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Men's Basketball Wins Season Opener, 74-70 at South Alabama
11/4/2024 11:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Chippewas score 17 points off turnovers in building a 15-point halftime lead, hold off host South Alabama the rest of the way for the win; five Chippewas reach double figure scoring.
MOBILE, Ala.—Central Michigan built a 15-point halftime lead, hit nine 3-pointers and shot 50 percent for the game as the Chippewas held off a late South Alabama rally for a 74-70 season opening victory Monday night at the Mitchell Center.
CMU returns back to Mount Pleasant to host its home opener on Thursday, Nov. 7 vs. Stony Brook in the first game of the Marquette Challenge. Tipoff for that game is at 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.
Five Chippewas reached double figure scoring including guard Kyler VanderJagt, who scored a team-high 16 points on 3-6 3-point shooting, guard Jakobi Heady added 14 points, three 3-pointers, and a team-high eight rebounds, consensus preseason MAC Player of the Year Anthony Pritchard scored 12 points, led CMU with six assists and finished with a career-high six steals, while guard Cayden Vasko and center Ugnius Jarusevicius both added 10 points apiece.
As a team, Central Michigan converted 26 of its 52 field goal attempts (50 percent), 9-31 3-pointers and finished with 11 steals.
"Great first win for us," Central Michigan head coach Tony Barbee said. "We're excited. We needed a good start. We played well, but now we've got to put this in the books and move forward. We did some good things early-on, the first three quarters, we were getting after it on defense. We played a really good game and when it came to executing. And Bryan (Ndjonga) going to the line at the end there and making those free throws, that was huge."
"We just haven't been able to practice five-on-five because we've been so banged up and injured," Barbee said. "We're just starting to get some guys back and it showed tonight. We died a little bit at the end. When you get tired, the first thing that goes is not your legs, it's your mind. We had some breakdowns. At the end of the day, you just have to find a way. We're not playing for stylistic points."
The first half was exceptional. Central Michigan built a 15-point halftime lead (38-23) fueled by nine steals and 56 percent (14-25) field goal shooting. The Chippewas forced South Alabama into 12 turnovers and outscored the Jaguars 17-3 off turnovers.
Central Michigan took control with a 10-0 first half run to take a commanding 31-21 lead. With the score tied at 21-21, Heady drilled a 3-pointer to give CMU the lead, then Pritchard stole the ball and dribbled down the court for a layup. On the next South Alabama possession, Heady stole the ball and passed to Ndjonga for an alley-oop dunk, then Pritchard made another steal, drove to the rim, converted the layup and was fouled for a 3-point play and 10-point 31-21 lead with 4:49 to play in the half.
The Chippewas then closed out the half with a 7-0 run fueled by an alley-oop dunk by Shaedon Simpson off a pass from Vasko and three VanderJagt free throws.
Pritchard and Heady opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Chippewas a 44-23 lead with 18:42 to play. CMU's largest lead was 22 points (49-27) with 16:49 to play in the game.
But South Alabama went on a 10-0 second half run to cut the margin to 49-37 with 12:11 to play. A VanderJagt 3-pointer stopped the run and gave the Chippewas a 52-37 lead.
Then South Alabama cut the margin down to nine points (70-61) with a 7-0 run. Dylan Fasoyiro's layup with 3:11 to play put the Jaguars within nine points. Two more free throws by Corey Myles cut the margin down to 72-65 then Judah Brown hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead down to 72-68 with 2:03 to play.
After CMU was called for a shot clock violation, South Alabama scored on a layup by Elijah Ormiston to trim CMU's lead to 72-70 with 12 seconds to play.
After a timeout, South Alabama applied a full court press as the Jaguars trapped Pritchard in the corner, but the veteran point guard threw a behind-the-back pass to Vasko who found Ndjonga open at the other end of the floor. Ndjonga was fouled with two seconds to play and calmly swished two free throws, securing the victory for the Chipppewas.
"This is the best team I've had since I've been in Mount Pleasant," Barbee said. "These guys are talented, unselfish, they're good kids, good students, they play for each other, they play for Central Michigan not for themselves, and they play hard. That should give not just the CMU people, the CMU family, not just the Snake Pitt, who I expect to be out in full force. I'm going to be on campus on Wednesday, handing out fliers, doughnuts, pizzas, whatever I have to do. We've got to the get the building jumping. The home court crowd makes a huge difference. It's not just the CMU students, the CMU alumni, it is the Mount Pleasant community that has to surround this team and put their arms around them and embrace them. It's going to be a fun ride."
CMU's five starters were Anthony Pritchard, Jakobi Heady, Cayden Vasko, Bryan Ndjonga, and Hunter Harding. With the win, CMU improves to 2-1 in MAC-SBC Challenge games.
South Alabama was led by Myles' 20 points. Brown finished with 15 points.
CMU men's basketball season tickets and single game tickets are already on sale. Fans can order season tickets by calling Ticket Central at (989) 774-3045, by ordering on this link, or by stopping by Ticket Central located in the John G. Kulhavi Events Center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Single-game tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16. For more information, click here.
CMU returns back to Mount Pleasant to host its home opener on Thursday, Nov. 7 vs. Stony Brook in the first game of the Marquette Challenge. Tipoff for that game is at 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.
Five Chippewas reached double figure scoring including guard Kyler VanderJagt, who scored a team-high 16 points on 3-6 3-point shooting, guard Jakobi Heady added 14 points, three 3-pointers, and a team-high eight rebounds, consensus preseason MAC Player of the Year Anthony Pritchard scored 12 points, led CMU with six assists and finished with a career-high six steals, while guard Cayden Vasko and center Ugnius Jarusevicius both added 10 points apiece.
As a team, Central Michigan converted 26 of its 52 field goal attempts (50 percent), 9-31 3-pointers and finished with 11 steals.
"Great first win for us," Central Michigan head coach Tony Barbee said. "We're excited. We needed a good start. We played well, but now we've got to put this in the books and move forward. We did some good things early-on, the first three quarters, we were getting after it on defense. We played a really good game and when it came to executing. And Bryan (Ndjonga) going to the line at the end there and making those free throws, that was huge."
"We just haven't been able to practice five-on-five because we've been so banged up and injured," Barbee said. "We're just starting to get some guys back and it showed tonight. We died a little bit at the end. When you get tired, the first thing that goes is not your legs, it's your mind. We had some breakdowns. At the end of the day, you just have to find a way. We're not playing for stylistic points."
The first half was exceptional. Central Michigan built a 15-point halftime lead (38-23) fueled by nine steals and 56 percent (14-25) field goal shooting. The Chippewas forced South Alabama into 12 turnovers and outscored the Jaguars 17-3 off turnovers.
Central Michigan took control with a 10-0 first half run to take a commanding 31-21 lead. With the score tied at 21-21, Heady drilled a 3-pointer to give CMU the lead, then Pritchard stole the ball and dribbled down the court for a layup. On the next South Alabama possession, Heady stole the ball and passed to Ndjonga for an alley-oop dunk, then Pritchard made another steal, drove to the rim, converted the layup and was fouled for a 3-point play and 10-point 31-21 lead with 4:49 to play in the half.
The Chippewas then closed out the half with a 7-0 run fueled by an alley-oop dunk by Shaedon Simpson off a pass from Vasko and three VanderJagt free throws.
Pritchard and Heady opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Chippewas a 44-23 lead with 18:42 to play. CMU's largest lead was 22 points (49-27) with 16:49 to play in the game.
But South Alabama went on a 10-0 second half run to cut the margin to 49-37 with 12:11 to play. A VanderJagt 3-pointer stopped the run and gave the Chippewas a 52-37 lead.
Then South Alabama cut the margin down to nine points (70-61) with a 7-0 run. Dylan Fasoyiro's layup with 3:11 to play put the Jaguars within nine points. Two more free throws by Corey Myles cut the margin down to 72-65 then Judah Brown hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead down to 72-68 with 2:03 to play.
After CMU was called for a shot clock violation, South Alabama scored on a layup by Elijah Ormiston to trim CMU's lead to 72-70 with 12 seconds to play.
After a timeout, South Alabama applied a full court press as the Jaguars trapped Pritchard in the corner, but the veteran point guard threw a behind-the-back pass to Vasko who found Ndjonga open at the other end of the floor. Ndjonga was fouled with two seconds to play and calmly swished two free throws, securing the victory for the Chipppewas.
"This is the best team I've had since I've been in Mount Pleasant," Barbee said. "These guys are talented, unselfish, they're good kids, good students, they play for each other, they play for Central Michigan not for themselves, and they play hard. That should give not just the CMU people, the CMU family, not just the Snake Pitt, who I expect to be out in full force. I'm going to be on campus on Wednesday, handing out fliers, doughnuts, pizzas, whatever I have to do. We've got to the get the building jumping. The home court crowd makes a huge difference. It's not just the CMU students, the CMU alumni, it is the Mount Pleasant community that has to surround this team and put their arms around them and embrace them. It's going to be a fun ride."
CMU's five starters were Anthony Pritchard, Jakobi Heady, Cayden Vasko, Bryan Ndjonga, and Hunter Harding. With the win, CMU improves to 2-1 in MAC-SBC Challenge games.
South Alabama was led by Myles' 20 points. Brown finished with 15 points.
CMU men's basketball season tickets and single game tickets are already on sale. Fans can order season tickets by calling Ticket Central at (989) 774-3045, by ordering on this link, or by stopping by Ticket Central located in the John G. Kulhavi Events Center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Single-game tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16. For more information, click here.
—CMU—
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