A late rally by the men’s basketball team was not enough Saturday in Rose Arena.

The team opened its season with a 71-68 loss to Princeton.

“It was a very fought battle,” said coach Ernie Zeigler.

CMU (0-1) found itself down by nine at one point, but grinded its way back into the game. A senior guard Jordan Bitzer free throw with under a minute to go gave CMU a temporary one point lead.

But Princeton followed Bitzer’s free throw with a field goal and a blocked shot, moving the lead to three on a free throw. A last ditch three-point effort by senior guard Robbie Harman on the final possession hit off the backboard.

Bitzer and Harman lead CMU in scoring, finishing with 19 and 22 respectively. Princeton was lead by guards Dan Mavraides and Douglas Davis, who each scored 16.

Junior forward Marko Spica and senior forward Chris Kellermann, both of whom are coming back from redshirt medical seasons, struggled. Spica finished with two points and no rebounds and Kellermann scored five with one rebound.

“They did an excellent job of making our post play non-existent,” said Zeigler on Princeton’s job covering the two players.

Last season Kellermann scored 28 points and had 13 rebounds.

In the first half the Tigers were potent from beyond the three-point line. Princeton shot five-of-six from three-point range and didn’t miss an attempt until the minute in the half. Princeton outshot Central Michigan 58.5 percent to 44.2 in the game.

“I definitely don’t think our defense was where it needed to be in terms of the things we strategically wanted to execute,” Zeigler said.

CMU hosts Ferris State at 7 p.m. Monday in Rose Arena.

Check Monday’s edition for expanded coverage of the team’s loss and upcoming game against Ferris.

E-mail the author: Tim Ottusch