2008 Woodie Awards
Central swarms Eagles
Defense keys first MAC win as Chippewas force 23 turnovers
By: Daniel Monson
Issue date: 1/7/08 Section: Sports
|
Central certainly was listening Sunday during its 62-53 win against Eastern Michigan at Rose Arena.
Team defense sparked CMU's offensive surge early and carried it through the final buzzer as the Chippewas forced 23 turnovers in the Mid-American Conference opener.
"We were motivated coming out," said senior guard Giordan Watson. "We have to defend our home court, especially in the MAC. That was enough motivation in itself."
Forget making a shot - the Eagles were having a tough time even attempting one. The Chippewas stifled EMU into 14 shot attempts in the first frame. Eastern made only six, and CMU jumped to a 32-17 halftime lead.
The team withstood an 11-1 run by the Eagles midway through the second half, which cut CMU's lead to 44-35.
"Like most times, it's hard for guys to continue their focus early (in the second half) when you have a (big) lead," Zeigler said. "We got somewhat lethargic there, and they battled, and we ended up having a game on our hands."
But sophomore Jordan Bitzer's 3-pointer put the Chippewas back up by double figures and EMU (4-9) wouldn't get any closer the rest of the game. Bitzer finished with 11 points and made three 3-point baskets.
"Bitzer makes plays," Zeigler said. "That's what he does - he's a playmaker."
Not only did CMU's defense gain contributions from the entire team - sophomore Brandon Ford even recorded a block in his three minutes of play - nine players scored and CMU outscored Eastern 29-9 off turnovers.
"We definitely want to score transition off our defense," Zeigler said. "I thought in the first half we got a little over-zealous a couple times after steals, but for the most part, we did a good job of converting those."
Much of CMU's success in transition came toward the end of the first half, when the team went on a 16-4 run sparked by five steals to beat EMU's half-court defense.
"When you've got a team like that, who is keying in on different things in the halfcourt, you don't have to go through a set defense," Watson said. "You can turn your defense into offense,"
Watson finished with a team-high 12 points and seven assists. Bitzer led CMU with five steals.
Eastern's small lineup, predominately featuring four guards, forced Zeigler to adjust his personnel early. Senior Eddie Spencer didn't play in the first half, but came in to lead the team with five rebounds. Juniors Nate Minnoy and Chris Kellermann were limited, playing just 15 and 13 minutes, respectively. Sophomore Marko Spica didn't see the floor.
"We were struggling with the ball screens, the pick-and-pop, and they were getting wide-open looks," Zeigler said. "Eddie's our best defensive guy playing at the four. He did an excellent job of coming in and switching all those ball screens for us."
CMU (6-7) continues MAC play with a 2 p.m. matchup with Ball State on Sunday in Muncie, Ind.
"Our non-conference schedule gave us several different windows to look through," Zeigler said. "In all these games, we've had a really good opportunity to get better defensively. If we can continue to do that, it's going to give us a chance to compete in the upper-half of our division."
Break Recap
Dec. 29: CMU 100, Tiffin 34
CMU scored 100 points for the first time since the 2003-04 season as it jumped out to a 15-0 lead and didn't look back. Five players scored in double figures for the Chippewas, including a career-high 16 points from Marcus Van.
Dec. 22: Cleveland State 86, CMU 70
CMU shot a season-low 38.6 percent from the field as CSU shot more than 50 percent from the field and 3-point range. Nate Minnoy led CMU with 19 points.
Dec. 19: Wisconsin-Milwaukee 74, CMU 71
CMU's poorest performance of break came against UW-M, which was without its leading scorer and rebounder Torre Jackson, who was kicked off the team the day before. CMU turned the ball over 23 times. Marcus Van was a lone bright spot with eight points and 16 rebounds.
Dec. 15: CMU 78, Michigan 71
CMU didn't allow a 3-point attempt in the first half and forced the Wolverines into 23 turnovers in the game in Ann Arbor. Watson finished with 22 points and four assists to lead CMU to its first win against a Big Ten team since 2003.
sports@cm-life.com
