He was the talk of the school for the fall. Mount Pleasant High School’s Trey Zeigler was recruited by some of the biggest schools in the country – Duke, Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA – and chose to play for his dad at Central Michigan.

While the season didn’t go the way he probably would have liked, Zeigler finished second in Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year voting. He led the Chippewas in scoring, averaging 16.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Since the end of the season, Zeigler’s added 10 pounds and will return next season with a more experienced backcourt and team licking its wounds from a disappointing 10-21 season.

Honorable Mention: Jalin Thomas

Senior forward Jalin Thomas proved to be one of the more valuable players on the CMU basketball team this season. Thomas’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Cal State Fullerton in the season-opener appeared to set the table for the team’s capabilities, but injuries hampered the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder down the stretch, limiting the Chippewas’ already slim offensive production. In 28 games, Thomas averaged 15.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Honorable Mention: Derek Jackson

A highly-touted point guard out of Cleveland, freshman Derek Jackson averaged more than 26 minutes per game, averaging 7.4 points per game. With inconsistent play at point guard, Jackson was relied on even more toward the end of the season. He put together consistent performances down the stretch, scoring 16 points in the team’s second-half loss against Ball State and 14 points at Toledo.

A season that began with a lot of hype and high expectations came to a predictable end Tuesday, as Central Michigan suffered a 64-50 opening round defeat in the Mid-American Conference tournament.

Looking to limit Buffalo and its star guard Byron Mulkey, CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler instituted a 2-3 zone defense to try contain Mulkey, who went off for 29 points in the teams’ first meeting of the season.

“We were doing something that we practiced for two days,” Zeigler said. “We’re a team that’s struggled defensively and we’re a program that has prided itself on that. The last time we came here they just cut us up, so we talked about coming in here and playing a 2-3 zone.”

While it was effective in limiting the 6-foot, 175-pound senior, guard Zach Filzen found himself taking advantage of open looks. The junior scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

Filzen started off hot, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers to give Buffalo an early 12-3 lead. He finished with five on the night, shooting at a 50 percent clip from behind the line.

Buffalo forward Mitchell Watt scores over Will McClure. Watt had four points in the Bulls' 64-50 win against the Chippewas. McClure, playing his last game in a CMU uniform, scored eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds. (Photo courtesy of James P. McCoy / Buffalo News)

“We knew Mulkey has the ability to get in the lane … use those ball screens and score off them,” Zeigler said. “We wanted to take that way, but we knew in doing so you leave a spot-up shooter in catch and shoot opportunities, and that’s what Filzen is. When you’re a step slow in rotations trying to play zone, you give up those types of looks to catch and shoot guys.”

UB (18-12) started off shooting the ball well, while also limiting CMU’s scoring duo of Jalin Thomas and Trey Zeigler.

Thomas, who finished with seven points on 2-of-12 shooting, missed his first five shot attempts. His first made field goal came with 4:33 remaining in the first half. Meanwhile, Zeigler finished the first half with one point.

“If those two can’t get going, it’s going to be a long night for us,” Ernie Zeigler said.

The senior forward came on late in the first half, helping bring CMU to within four at halftime, but that was the extent of Thomas’ impact in the game, as he was shut out in the second half.

Zeigler, a freshman, tried to take control of the game early in the second half – his layup with 15:12 remaining brought the Chippewas to within three – but was largely held in check by Bulls guard Dave Barnett.

“I just take it as a challenge,” said Barnett, who held Zeigler to 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting. “I like guarding the team’s best player.

“I knew that today that (Trey) was going to try and get into the line and spin back. I knew I just had to stand on my feet and stay in front of the kid.”

The Chippewas also got scoring from senior forward Will McClure (eight points, 12 rebounds) and sophomore guard Finis Craddock (seven points – all in the first half), but it just wasn’t enough.

After shooting an uncharacteristic 36.4 percent from the field – Buffalo shoots better than 48 percent on average – the Bulls came back in the second half and went 13-for-24 to seal the win. They forced CMU into 14 turnovers, resulting in 19 points.

Buffalo advances to play No. 1 Kent State in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament at 7 p.m. Thursday in Cleveland.

His answers were short, and he was more guarded – even more so than after his team’s second-half collapse against Ball State a week earlier.

All Central Michigan needed to host an opening round game in the Mid-American Conference tournament was to win, or have Buffalo beat a struggling Bowling Green team.

Instead, following an 81-68 loss to Western Michigan Saturday in front of 3,024 at McGuirk Arena, it got neither.

“Congratulations to coach (Steve) Hawkins and Western Michigan,” were the first words out of Zeigler’s mouth. “They did a heck of a job coming in here and playing through adversity and showed why they are the best team in the West.”

Bowling Green, riding a six-game losing streak into its final game at Anderson Arena, pulled off an 83-73 win over Buffalo earlier in the day to claim the seventh seed in next week’s conference tournament.

CMU freshman guard Trey Zeigler attempts a layup during the second half of Saturday's game against Western Michigan. Zeigler was limited to eight points and seven rebounds in the loss. (Andrew Kuhn/Staff Photographer)

Now, CMU will have to travel to Buffalo on Tuesday, a place where it suffered its worst MAC defeat of the season, losing 72-43 on Feb. 8. A win and the team advances to the quarterfinals in Cleveland. A loss and its season comes to an end.

“Every game we play we are going to try to compete to win,” Zeigler said. “You can’t rest your laurels on what’s happened earlier. We just have to come back and see what resolve we have to pur ourselves in a position to go on the road.”

The Broncos, who claimed sole possession of the MAC West Division title with the win, entered Saturday’s game without star forward Flenard Whitfield. As a result, CMU was able to stay close as both teams traded baskets early on.

But WMU’s game plan quickly became clear, as the Broncos used a series of double screens to gain easy, short jumpers in the paint. CMU’s man-to-man defense struggled to adjust in the second half, allowing Broncos guard Mike Douglas and forward Juwan Howard Jr. to penetrate the lane and make things tough for the Chippewas defense.

Douglas finished with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while Howard scored 19 on 7-of-14 from the field. Together, the duo combined for 17 of WMU’s 28 field goals.

“We just had a lot of guys not rotating, me included,” said senior forward Jalin Thomas. “Douglas kept coming off and killing our guards. The second half we tried to squeeze it, but that didn’t work out so well. They proved to be the better team.”

Thomas finished with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting, but the rest of the Chippewas offense was held in check. Howard limited freshman guard Trey Zeigler to eight points on 4-of-18 shooting, while freshman Derek Jackson scored eight points on 3-of-14 from the field.

CMU senior forward Jalin Thomas walks off the court following Saturday's loss to the Broncos. Thomas played scored a team-high 25 points and had seven rebounds. CMU will play its first round Mid-American Conference tournament game Tuesday night at Buffalo. (Andrew Kuhn/Staff Photographer)

Ernie Zeigler called Howard the best freshman on the floor.

“They definitely took their lumps,” Zeigler said of Jackson and his son’s performance. “They both really struggled, but they are a part of our future and this is fortunately something they will be able to grow upon later on in this rivalry.”

Junior forward Andre Coimbra was the only other player to score in double figures, recording 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting.

Coimbra, who fouled out of the game, helped spark a comeback with a personal 5-0 run to bring the team to within 51-46, with 11:30 remaining, but two quick fouls took him out of the game for much of the second half.

Having squandered a chance to host its first-ever tournament game since the inception of the school joined the Mid-American Conference, CMU will have the next two days to prepare for a Buffalo team that is 12-3 at home.

Conversely, the Chippewas are 3-12 away from McGuirk Arena.

“It’s something we didn’t want to do,” Thomas said. “We wanted to play our game here next Tuesday. We didn’t do what we’re supposed to do, and now we have to go play there. We’re still going to fight regardless, and we got to go there and play our hearts out.”

Tipoff at Alumni Arena is set for 7 p.m.

With the regular season winding down for teams in the Mid-American Conference, this weekend is crucial in determining division titles and tournament seeding.

For both, look no further than Saturday’s game between the Central Michigan men’s basketball team and rival Western Michigan.

“When you’re playing Western, all of the scenarios that the game may bring goes out the window,” said CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler. “It’s Central-Western.”

CMU, at 7-8 in the conference, has the opportunity to lock up the No. 8 seed in next week’s MAC tournament with a win. A loss to the Broncos and a Bowling Green win over Buffalo Saturday sends the Chippewas on the road to Buffalo, a place the team does not want to return to after a 72-43 blowout loss on Feb. 8.

(Possible first round MAC tournament scenarios for CMU.)

The last meeting between both schools went down to the wire, with WMU pulling out a 63-56 overtime win Jan. 9 in Kalamazoo.

“It’s going to be a lot of pressure,” said senior forward Jalin Thomas. “But at the same time it’s something we want to do. Coach gave us some scenarios of what we might have to do if we lose, and we’re not looking forward to that at all.”

Meanwhile, Western Michigan (18-11, 10-5 MAC) can clinch the MAC West Division title outright and No. 2 seed in the tournament with a win. It moved a game ahead of Ball State in the division with a win against the Cardinals on Wednesday.

They Broncos are playing some of their best basketball of the year, having won three consecutive and six of their last seven games. Their only loss was a 74-72 loss against Kent State.

However, WMU will be without junior forward Flenard Whitfield, who was suspended by the MAC on Thursday following an altercation in Wednesday’s game against Ball State.

“It’s unfortunate – (Flenard) is an excellent student-athlete,” said Zeigler, who recruited the 6-foot-7, 230-pounder four years ago. “In basketball, things happen. We’ve been on the other end of that from an injury standpoint, playing without our best player for 2 games and a half.”

Saturday’s game will also serve as senior day for Thomas, guard Antonio Weary and senior forward Will McClure. All three junior college transfers will be honored before the game in what could be their final game played in Mount Pleasant.

“It’s been a great career here … I’ve loved every minute of it,” said Thomas, who transferred to CMU in 2008 from Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College. “Two years went by so fast, but it’s been great having my own family here and the fans and support we’ve had. Playing Western, it can’t get any bigger than that, and that’s exactly who everyone wanted to play.”

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.

Game preview: CMU vs. WMU
Tipoff: 2 p.m. Saturday, McGuirk Arena
TV/Radio: None/95.3 WCFX-FM (Mount Pleasant), 98.5 WUPS-FM (Houghton Lake)
Previous meeting: WMU beat the Chippewas, 63-56, in overtime on Jan. 9 in Kalamazoo. The Broncos lead the all-time series, 87-50.

No matter which theory you subscribe to, the CMU men’s basketball team finds itself in a very different situation heading into Tuesday’s game at Toledo.

Rather than sitting on the outside looking in, one game behind Mid-American Conference West Division leaders Ball State and Western Michigan, the Chippewas are now out of the division hunt completely after blowing a 23-point second-half lead Saturday against the Cardinals.

“The best thing about it is that we got to get ready for Tuesday,” CMU head coach Zeigler said in his post-game news conference. “Like I told our guys, it should hurt. It should be stinging.”

A win on Saturday, which looked reasonably conceivable for about 30 minutes, would have put the team in the driver’s seat for the final two games of the regular season.

CMU came out and played one of its best halves of basketball all season, shooting 50 percent from the floor and limiting Ball State to 19 shot attempts, to take a 39-19 lead into halftime.

The margin was widened early in the second half, peaking at 42-19 with 17:40 remaining. Everything that could go right was going right.

“What can you say? Down 15 points at halftime, 23 points in the second half — we just weren’t competing hard enough,” Ball State head coach Billy Taylor said of his team’s performance early on. “We didn’t have the energy, nor the intensity.”

Emotions run high

But less than three minutes into the second half, something changed. Emotions ran high as both teams became more physical – culminating with a brief incident involving Ball State’s Malik Perry and senior forward Will McClure.

During the Cardinals possession, Perry backed McClure down in the low-post and laid an elbow into McClure, who fell to the ground in pain. Shouting began as Perry, who was already slapped with a flagrant foul, and freshman guard Trey Zeigler were slapped with technical fouls.

While CMU increased its lead to 23, it would not be the same for the rest of the game.

“It was definitely a part of helping them,” Ernie said. “They could sense (it). They knocked us off balance some.”

Ball State went on a 7-0 run before a technical foul was issued to McClure for arguing a personal foul call. All of a sudden, the Cardinals were back in the game.

“We had guys losing our cool and, in a game like this, you can’t do that,” said Thomas, who had a fairly quiet game offensively, scoring 9 points on 3-of-8 shooting. “You can’t just keep losing your cool and getting technical fouls and stupid fouls that make no sense and get them going. It’s something we got to learn from.”

Thomas appeared frustrated, repeating the phrase “stupid fouls” on two separate occasions.

Ernie Zeigler, who listened to Thomas speak to the media after the game, agreed with his senior forward.

“When they called timeout, we have to be able to continue to have some poise and play with a lead. We had a total lack of poise,” he said. “When they called timeout, we have to be able to continue to have some poise and play with a lead. We had a total lack of poise.”

Ball State closed the final 12:23 on a 32-11 run, to pull away from Mount Pleasant with a 65-58 win and what was left of CMU’s chance at another division title.

Tournament seeding

Now, it’s about seeding heading into next week’s MAC tournament in Cleveland.

As it stands, CMU, at 6-8, remains in third place in the West. However, the loss puts the team out of the Top 8 in the conference, which would force them to go on the road in the first round. In conference play, the Chippewas are 1-6 on the road.

They have an opportunity to gain some confidence back against a Toledo team that is 4-25 overall, with wins against Valparaiso (in overtime), Florida Gulf Coast, NAIA Division II Indiana Northwest and WMU.

Also on the docket is the regular season home finale on Saturday against Western Michigan. A couple of wins along with Buffalo and/or Bowling Green and CMU could steal a the No. 7 or 8 seed and host a first round game.

“Everybody’s upset. It was a tough loss that we never should have lost,” Thomas said. “We got to learn from it, but it’s going to be a tough one to swallow. It’s definitely going to be on my mind for a while, but we got a couple games coming up this week, and we got to try and take care of those.”

With three games left in the regular season, Central Michigan men’s basketball finds itself two games back in the Mid-American Conference West Division standings.

While the window for opportunity is dwindling, CMU (9-18, 6-7 MAC) still has a chance to pull closer to division leaders Western Michigan and Ball State, both of which sit 8-5.

The Chippewas host Ball State at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at McGuirk Arena in another must-win game if it wants to make a run at a third consecutive division title.

“We’re putting ourselves in a position to do what we can do,” said CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler. “Obviously we’re going to need a little bit of help, but we can’t worry about that. We just got to take care of the ones we can take care of.”

While CMU snapped its 10-game losing streak Wednesday with a 64-58 win at Northern Illinois, the help didn’t come. Ball State pulled away from Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan handled Toledo with ease at home, keeping their lead at two games.

With a win Saturday, CMU moves one game behind the Cardinals. Meanwhile, the team will need some help from EMU, which plays host to WMU.

Last time around, the Chippewas held a lead into the second half in Muncie, Ind., before senior forward Jalin Thomas landed wrong on his ankle and had to leave the game. With his departure went the game, as Ball State surged ahead to win 64-55.

“We were there,” Zeigler said. We know, and I think they know. But at the end of the day it’s about who’s up on the scoreboard when the clock strikes zero. We’re looking forward to it.”

Thomas has career day

Thomas’ career-high 29 points, including 20 points in the first half, helped lead the Chippewas to their first win on the road since Nov. 24.

“We definitely needed this one,” Thomas said. “We’ve been struggling on the road. A lot of our guys learned how to close out games, which is something that is highly important because we’re going to have a lot more like these.”

The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder opened up in the first half, hitting 6 3-pointers while keeping them in the game. While NIU shot 65 percent from the field, CMU only trailed 34-33 at halftime.

While Thomas cooled down in the second half, freshman guard Trey Zeigler heated up. Trey, who scored 6 points in the first half, finished the game with 19 points, even going 7-for-9 from the free throw line, a vast improvement from his recent struggles.

Trey also came up big defensively in the second half, recording three steals and two blocks.

“Staying aggressive,” he said of the difference for him from the first half to the second. “I saw the game was in the balance and I tried to stay in attack mode.

“Getting a win on the road is tough. To get one like this, it helps a lot.”

It wasn’t easy for the men’s basketball to drop this one, either. The Chippewas blew a nine-point second-half lead, falling 61-55 to Niagara on Saturday in Niagara Falls, N.Y., as part of the ESPN BracketBuster series.

“It’s still the lack of maturity that you have to have,” said CMU coach Ernie Zeigler, whose team has lost 10 road games in a row. “We’re playing a lot of first-year guys who still just haven’t been able to grasp that the other team is not going to just stop coming at you on their home floor. They’re not.”

CMU (8-18), now 1-11 on the road, has not won a road game since a 62-52 win against Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 24. It beat Cal State Fullerton 70-67 on Nov. 13 in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii — a neutral site — in its only other win away from McGuirk Arena.

Tied 23-23 at halftime, CMU opened a 38-29 lead with 13:11 remaining in the game.

Niagara, behind a 52 percent second-half shooting performance, chipped away at the deficit and took the lead for good with 8:13 remaining.

Down 55-53 with 1:18 remaining and coming off a timeout, CMU freshman guard Trey Zeigler had a crucial turnover — his fifth of the game — on a failed pass to senior forward Jalin Thomas. The Purple Eagles (8-21) outscored CMU 6-2 from that point forward to close it out.

“Trey was extremely soft in this game,” said Ernie Zeigler, his father. “Extremely soft.”

Trey Zeigler, CMU’s leading scorer who came in averaging 16.6 points per game, struggled mightily Saturday. The 6-foot-5 guard finished 2-of-11 from the field, 0-of-4 from 3-point range and 2-of-8 from the free-throw line. He ended with six points, just one more than his turnover total.

“He really wilted, big time, in this circumstance today,” Ernie Zeigler said.

CMU was led by Thomas’ 23 points, including his 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Freshman guard Derek Jackson scored 10, but no other CMU player reached double digits.

Junior forward Andre Coimbra came off the bench to lead CMU to a 31-25 rebounding edge against the Purple Eagles. Coimbra had eight rebounds, all coming in the first half.

But he also had a key technical foul with 6:07 remaining after standing over a Niagara player after a block. He also did not score a point in the second half.

“(Andre) did some things in phases for us,” Ernie Zeigler said. “But again, unfortunately, he has his mental lapses as well.

“I don’t want to single him out — I’m not singling him out — but he’s showing growth extremely, extremely slowly.”

Niagara freshman guard Marvin Jordan led the Purple Eagles with 14 points. Senior guard Anthony Nelson had 13, and junior forward Kashief Edwards had 11.

The Chippewas shot 35.8 percent from the field, and just 25 percent from 3-point range and 57.1 percent from the free-throw line.

The Central Michigan men’s basketball coach said there is no time to coddle emotions after a 72-43 loss to the Bulls. Heading toward the 6:30 p.m. Saturday tip-off at McGuirk Arena against Bowling Green, he intends to push harder.

“There’s definitely been a slower learning curve in terms of those things,” Zeigler said. “But we’re going to continue to stay the course and continue to push in the same manner and hold guys accountable to the pillars of our program.”

Those pillars may refer to the team’s back-to-back run to Mid-American Conference West Division championships.

The Chippewas are just 3-7 in the MAC this season — 6-17 overall — and have yet to win a road conference game (0-5).

It has been a different story at home, however. CMU is 3-1 at home in the MAC. Its most impressive home win may have been its last, as CMU opened up offensively and beat Ohio 91-85 on Feb. 2.

But CMU largely has lived and died with the performances of freshman guard Trey Zeigler and senior forward Jalin Thomas, scoring-wise, at least. On Tuesday, the duo combined for 7-of-29 shooting from the field for 24.1 percent.

“This season is going to go as far as me and Trey,” said Thomas, regarding the team’s scoring, before pointing out the amount of help he got from the rest of the team against Ohio. CMU shot 50 percent against the Bobcats.

Bowling Green (12-12, 7-3 MAC) will prove an admirable test at McGuirk Arena.

The Falcons are 3-2 away from home, including a 74-71 double-overtime win on Jan. 8 against the same Buffalo team that just beat the Chippewas by 29.

Bowling Green will attack CMU in a different way than its most recent MAC foes.

Where Buffalo used guards Byron Mulkey and Zach Filzen to score 44 of its points, and Ohio guard D.J. Cooper and Northern Illinois guard Xavier Silas each had big days against CMU with 30 and 24 points, respectively, Bowling Green will try to run its offense through its front court and, more specifically, through 6-foot-7, 205-pound junior forward Scott Thomas (11.8 points per game) and 6-7, 234-pound sophomore forward A’uston Calhoun (11.6).

“Our league is a guard-heavy league,” Zeigler said. “But Bowling Green, they do pose a different challenge because of their two leading scorers being a small forward and more or less a power forward.”

Jalin Thomas likely will match up against Scott Thomas, who has three inches on the CMU forward.

“It’s just going to be how it’s been all year when we play post-heavy teams,” Thomas said.

Neither went far Tuesday night in Buffalo, N.Y. CMU lost its ninth consecutive road game — it is 0-5 on the road in the Mid-American Conference — and it largely had to do with another subpar shooting performance in a 72-43 loss to Buffalo at Alumni Arena in Amherst, N.Y.

The Chippewas (6-17, 3-7 MAC) shot 27.3 percent from the field against the Bulls (15-7, 7-3 MAC). Thomas (4-for-16), a senior forward, and freshman guard Zeigler (3-for-13) combined to shoot 24.1 percent.

“I think teams are going to be geared up for those two, and we need those two to make shots,” said CMU coach Ernie Zeigler, referring to his two leading scorers. “If Jalin and Trey are struggling, it’s normally going to equal an extremely tough night.”

Lately, any night has been tough if it has been away from McGuirk Arena. During the MAC road schedule, the Chippewas’ highest shooting percentage from the field was 44 percent against Ball State on Jan. 15. Besides that? The next best performances were 31 percent shooting nights in losses to Western Michigan and Kent State.

That’s four of five road conference games hovering at or below 31 percent shooting.

“This has been a recurring theme,” Ernie Zeigler said. “And we definitely don’t have the intentions to start off in that manner, but we’ve shot ourselves in the foot with these starts here on the road.”

It was evident against the Bulls. Buffalo was up 32-14 late in the second half before CMU found some life. Still, a 33-21 halftime lead was discouraging enough.

It only gets tougher when the opponent shoots 46 percent from the field, as Buffalo did, including 42.9 percent from 3-point range.

While Buffalo made nine 3-pointers, CMU had just one (1-of-12).

Thomas managed 18 points despite his shooting woes. Most of that can be attributed to his 10-for-11 shooting from the free-throw line. But besides Thomas, only two more free throws were made by CMU, both by Trey Zeigler.

And senior forward Will McClure was the only other CMU player to even attempt a free throw.

Zeigler’s eight points were second highest on the team. As for Buffalo, senior guard Byron Mulkey (29) and junior guard Zach Filzen (15) combined for 44 points.

Buffalo’s length down low may have presented more problems for CMU, however, specifically junior forward Mitchell Watt. The 6-foot-10, 215-pounder had six of the Bulls’ nine blocks.

“I thought where their length bothered us is when we got in the lane,” Ernie Zeigler said. “We did a really good job of driving it and getting in there, but we weren’t patient enough to shot-fake once or twice, or even a third time, to try to negate their length and athleticism around the basket.”

Buffalo out-rebounded CMU 39-34, and had 12 assists compared to CMU’s three.

CMU plays Bowling Green at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at McGuirk Arena.

For the first time in over a week, the Central Michigan men’s basketball team had something to smile about.

CMU shot 50 percent from the floor and had five players score in double figures en route to a 91-85 win Wednesday against Ohio before 1,239 at McGuirk Arena.

“It’s just about playing with confidence,” Zeigler said in the postgame news conference. “We used the word ‘swagger’ in preparing for this game. It makes it much (more) fun when you have that type of balance.”

Freshman guard Trey Zeigler led the way once again, scoring 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field. Senior forward Jalin Thomas, still only about 70 percent healed from a Grade-2 ankle sprain, added 22.

But unlike so many times before, the scoring didn’t end there.

CMU sophmore guard Finis Craddock pumps up the crowd during the first half Wednesday night against the Ohio at McGuirk Arena. Craddock played 24 minutes and finished with 12 points in the Chippewas 91-85 win against the Bobcats. (Andrew Kuhn/Staff Photographer)

Freshman guard Derek Jackson contributed 14 points while sophomore guard Finis Craddock continues to show his worth offensively, scoring 12 points and helping light a 3-point fire in the first half. Freshman Colin Voss also put together his best offensive performance of the season, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds.

“We need this for the rest of the season,” Thomas said. “This can’t be just one game in which it happens. As long as they keep shooting it and making it, that’s terrific. That’s just going to help us. We can’t have any more 40-point games. This is what we’re capable of.”

After getting the first basket of the game, CMU found itself down 8-2 and 12-5 early in the first half. But instead of getting down on itself, the Chippewas went on an 8-1 run, getting points from four different players, to tie the game.

After Ohio ballooned its lead to eight points later in the half, 25-17, CMU’s offensive woke up. The Chippewas used a 3-point barrage from Craddock, who hit three in a span of four minutes, and Jackson to close the half on a 22-7 run and lead 39-32.

“I’m starting to get more confidence in my shot,” Jackson said. “Coach keeps telling me to stay in the gym, and I’ve been in the gym. It’s just confidence. I have confidence in Finis, too.”

Early foul trouble didn’t appear to phase CMU as it started the second half the way it ended the first. Thomas knocked down a 3-pointer 16 seconds into the half and sophomore guard John Morris, who made his first start of the season, and senior forward Will McClure followed with baskets on ensuing possessions to improve their lead to double digits.

The Bobcats (10-12, 3-5 Mid-American Conference) would not go away thanks to their full court pressure defense. They used it cut CMU’s lead to five points with eight minutes and 1:17 remaining, but the Chippewas withstood both flurries to hold on for their first win against a MAC East opponent.

“We all know it’s been a long time coming, and we had an offensive explosion,” Ernie Zeigler said. “We’ve talked about playing more confidently offensively and being aggressive, and we saw a lot of our young guys take a strong step forward.”

D.J. Cooper scored 30 points on 10-of-21 for Ohio, which shot 51.9 percent for the game and 60 percent in the second half.

CMU (6-15, 3-5 MAC) won the rebounding battle, 34-29, and had 13 assists in the win.

The team travels to Kent State at 5 p.m. Saturday.