 NIAGRA 61, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 55 MATURITY CURVE
"It's still a lack of maturity that you have to have in these close games, and we are playing a lot of first-year guys who still haven't been able to grasp that the other team isn't going to stop coming at you on their home floor," head coach Ernie Zeigler said. "We just had a lack of toughness in different stages in that second half."
The Chippewas (8-18, 5-8 MAC) led 38-29 with 13:11 to go in the game before the Purple Eagles (8-21, 4-12 MAAC) reeled off 18 of the game's next 20 points to take a 47-40 lead with 6:33 to go.
Jalin Thomas pulled the game back within four on a three off an assist from Trey Zeigler , but Andre Coimbra was whistled for a technical foul on NU's next possession, allowing the home team to push the lead back to six, 49-43, on two free throws.
FREE THROWS SEAL VERDICT
The Maroon and Gold continued to claw their way back, going on an 8-3 run to pull the game within one, 54-53, on a three by freshman Derek Jackson , but the Purple Eagles knocked down all five of their free throw attempts in the final two minutes to secure the win.
"This was an opportunity, but it doesn't affect us getting back into conference play," Zeigler said. "Hopefully this loss will catapult us to understanding how much more tough we have to be for a forty minute game."
CMU was led by Thomas who scored a game-high 23 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while going a perfect 5-for-5 from the line. Jackson added 10 points for the Chippewas while pulling down six rebounds. Coimbra posted a game-high eight rebounds for the Chippewas.
NU SHOOTING ADVANTAGE
The Chippewas out-rebounded Niagra 35-28 in the game and held an edge in the turnover battle (18-to-20), but NU's 52.6 percent shooting clip in the second half made the difference.
Niagara was led by Marvin Jordan who scored 14 points, while Anthony Nelson, the nation's leader in steals, scored 13 points, tallied a game-high seven assists and recorded three steals.
The Chippewas will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to DeKalb, Ill., looking for a season sweep of the Northern Illinois Huskies. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.
Courtesy of Central Michigan Athletics |
