Chippewas overmatched in McGuirk Arena debut

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A team that prides itself on a ‘Think Tough, Be Tough’ mentality was overmatched and made to look tired Wednesday.

The Central Michigan men’s basketball team let an eight-point halftime lead slip away, losing its McGuirk Arena opener against Temple 65-53 before a crowd of 5,350.

CMU was outrebounded 22-7 in the second half, falling 2-4 on the season.

“It’s really unfortunate for us that we weren’t able to give the turnout we had here (a win),” said CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler. “We feel disappointed we weren’t able to sustain the effort over a 40 minute period. Temple showed their toughness midway through the second half and really just took momentum.”

Feeding off the energy of the sellout crowd, the Chippewas jumped out to an early 9-2 lead on a pair of baskets from senior forward Jalin Thomas.

Thomas would lead the team’s offensive explosion in the first half, scoring 17 points on 6-of-9, including three 3-pointers.

Senior forward Jalin Thomas drives toward the basket during the second half Wednesday against Temple. Thomas led the team in scoring with 26 points. (Jake May/Photo Editor)

Men's basketball head coach Ernie Zeigler gives players instructions during a timeout Wednesday at McGuirk Arena. (Jeff Smith/Staff Photographer)

Temple used 7-0 run to tie the game at 14, but CMU closed the half on a tear, with Thomas scoring seven of the team’s final nine points of the half.

“He’s another senior that’s maturing and ready to emerge into a new role,” Zeigler. “He had good pace to his game – he didn’t force anything – and hopefully is something we can continue to build upon as we bring guys along.”

Momentum appeared to remain on the home team’s side early in the second half as the Chippewas maintained a 10-point lead with less than 17 minutes to go, but the Owls forced a pair of turnovers and went on an 8-0 run, changing the course of the game.

“We came out with a lot of intensity and a lot of focus, but I think some guys got tired,” Thomas said. “We started missing defensive assignments and we started missing block outs.”

CMU would scratch and claw to hold on to its lead, but with 9:30 remaining in the game Temple took its first lead, 50-49, on an offensive rebound and layup by senior forward Lavoy Allen. The Owls would follow with a 12-2 run and the Chippewas would never recover.

After looking unstoppable for much of the game, Thomas was held scoreless in the final six minutes as the team struggled to score. CMU shot 34.6 percent from the field in the second half, compared to 42.9 percent in the first half, and was outrebounded 22-7.

“Fatigue set in a little bit,” he said. “Playing the whole second half kind of wore me down.”

Three players scored in double figures for Temple, who improves to 4-2 on the season after being knocked out of the Top 25 rankings this week.

Junior guards Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore led the way with 18 and 16 points, respectively, for Temple (4-2). Senior forward Lavoy Allen recorded a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Senior guard Amir Rashid was the only other CMU player to score in double figures, recording 11 points and six assists.

Trey shut down

CMU freshman guard Trey Zeigler attempts to block Temple guard Ramone Moore Wednesday. Zeigler was limited to a season-low five points on 2-of-11 shooting. (Paige Calamari/Staff Photographer)

The much anticipated home debut of freshman guard Trey Zeigler did not go as planned.

Zeigler, averaging a team-leading 18.8 points heading into Wednesday’s game, was a non-factor as Temple limited him to just five points on 2-of-11 shooting and two rebounds.

Head coach Ernie Zeigler called it a “rude awakening” for his son.

“They were really physical with him,” Zeigler said. “Everyone looks at his shots. I think the most disappointing stat is that he only had two rebounds. He can be a lot better rebounder than that, and a lot of those times where they were getting those second and third shots was his and the rest of his teammates’ inability to block out and get physical.”

Said Temple head coach Fran Dunphy: “He’s a really good player. We talked about not letting him touch the ball, and we didn’t do a very good job the first couple plays of the game. We just tried to emphasize the point of denying him as much as we could.”

CMU has the day off Thursday before it practices Friday and Saturday. The Chippewas hit the road again this weekend, playing at 6:30 p.m. Sunday against DePaul in Chicago.