Eastern Michigan’s two goals for the second half were to take care of the basketball and stop CMU center Gerrit Brigitha.

They accomplished both en route to a 71-68 win at Rose Arena Saturday.

EMU erased a 10-point halftime lead by holding Brigitha to five second half points and committing only six turnovers.

The senior from Niles had a near-perfect first half scoring 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting. His 24 points coupled with 11 rebounds gave him his second double-double of his career, and was also the fourth straight game that he has scored more than 20 points.

“He was phenomenal in the first half,” said EMU coach Jim Boone. “His first half performance was as good as a performance that anyone has had against us all year.”

EMU used double teams and a zone defense to hold him to one second half field goal.

“We just tried to keep him away from the basket as much as we could,” Boone said.

Brigitha’s performances earned him MAC West Player of the Week honors. He has averaged 26.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in two games against Toledo and EMU. His field goal percentage of .588 is first in the MAC.

By keeping him in check the Eagles forced other CMU players to make shots. The Chippewas shot 30 percent in the second half including 2-of-9 from three-point range.

The starting backcourt of Kevin Nelson and T.J. Meerman combined to shoot 5-of-20 from the field.

“The two big factors in that game were that they went to the offensive glass, and we missed wide open shots,” said CMU coach Jay Smith.

The loss was the Chippewas third straight, making them 3-10 overall and 0-3 in the MAC. EMU wiped out a 12 point deficit, taking the lead on a lay-up by Markus Austin with less than eight minutes remaining. The teams exchanged leads before a three by Michael Ross put the Eagles up one with 40 seconds left.

The Chippewas had two chances to tie or take the lead at the end, but Brigitha had his shot blocked and after two James Jackson free throws, Meerman put up a desperation three that missed the mark.

“They got more rebounds and just outplayed us,” said forward Marcus Moore. “We did a good job of defending but we just didn’t make shots.”

The Chippewas committed only 16 turnovers to the 23 for Eastern, but were dominated on the glass and outrebounded 39-28.

Moore continued his improvement since becoming eligible on Dec. 20. He finished with eight points and six rebounds, and Smith said that progress is being made and likes the aggressiveness he is showing.

Central still had four players score in double figures despite their porous second half performance. Meerman, Nelson, and David Hoskins all scored 10 to go along with Brigitha’s 24.

Austin led Eastern with 21 points, while John Bowler scored 11 and had 12 rebounds.

“We just have to keep working,” Meerman said. “We are right there and we need just one (win) to get us going and show everyone that we are capable of it.”

No. 16 Purdue 80, CMU 39

This is a game the Chippewas would like to forget.

Coming off an emotional one-point win at then No. 23 Notre Dame, Central was held to 12 first half points and the 39 total was CMU’s lowest point total in 17 years.

Purdue put together runs of 12-0, 11-0, and 21-0 en route to the victory.

Brandon McKnight and Kenneth Lowe led the Boilermakers with 13 points, while sophomore Brandon Voorhees had 11 for CMU.

Michigan 85, CMU 75

For the first ten minutes of the first half it looked like a repeat of the Purdue game.

Michigan jumped out to a 28-2 lead before the Chippewas cut the lead to 18 at the half. CMU went scoreless for 7 minutes and 44 seconds in the first half.

Central showed their resiliency as they had all season long, battling back and cutting the lead to three with a little over two minutes remaining.

They ran out of energy at the end though as four free throws by Graham Brown and three by Bernard Robinson Jr. put the game away.Lester Abram led all scorers with 24 points. CMU had a trio of players in double figures led by Brigitha who had 19, Hoskins 16, and Voorhees 13.

“Our guys stayed with it and found a way to claw back,” Smith said. “We responded in the second half and our kids are learning.”

Loyola-Chicago 90, CMU 83

Loyola did what most teams have done all season long to CMU, attack the offensive glass.

The Ramblers held a 45-32 edge in rebounding including a 21-9 margin on the offensive glass, using that to overcome a 12-point first half deficit.

The Chippewas led by 12 before the Ramblers went on a 13-4 run to cut the lead to three at the half. They took their first lead since early in the game with 14:10 remaining, using a 14-0 run to push the lead to 10.

The Chippewas fought back, taking the lead with 1:39 to play on a three by Hoskins, but that was the last time they would score.

CMU had a pair of players post career highs in points with Nelson scoring 22 and Tony Bowne’s 19.

CMU 124, Tri-State 103

Scoring points had been a problem for CMU, but not in this one. The team shot 62 percent from the field, while Brigitha was a perfect 12-of-12 for a career high 29 points.

The 124 points were the second most in school history, and fourteen players helped accomplish that feat. Six Chippewas scored in double-figures.

Voorhees had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Moore made his Chippewas debut with 12 points.

The win was a much needed one for CMU, ending a three-game losing streak.

Marshall 72, CMU 63

Coming back from large deficits and coming up short has been the theme for the Chippewas this season, and the MAC opener was no different.

CMU trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, but cut the lead to one with under four minutes to play. The Thundering Herd managed to score the game’s final eight points to secure the win.

Marshall had a 42-30 advantage on the glass, another major concern for CMU.

Brigitha was the bright spot on offense for the second straight game going 9-of-11 from the field for a game high 26 points. Meerman chipped in 11.

Toledo 83, CMU 71

Even a 23-5 scoring run in the second half was not enough for the Chippewas to get its first MAC win at Toledo Jan.7.

Senior Gerrit Brigitha scored a game-high 29 points to tie his career high. While Sammy Villegas had 27 points and Keith Triplett scored 21 to lead the Rockets.

Senior Tony Bowne added 11 off the bench as CMU fell to 3-9 and 0-2 in the MAC.

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