CMU falls 65-58 against Montana State in overtime

UPDATED: Central Michigan Life Sports Editor Aaron McMann's recap on cm-life.com can be found here.

CMU's second game ended in overtime against a Montana State team that hit 21-of-30 free throws (70 percent) and 8-of-16 from 3-point land.

Some highlights:

• Trey Zeigler led all scorers with 21 points. He also had four rebounds, one assist and one steal. He shot 8-of-16 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
• Jalin Thomas again seemed to be in the flow of things on the offensive end. He didn't shoot real well (6-for-15), but in 33 minutes, grabbed six rebounds.
• Freshman Derek Jackson came off the bench to contribute five points in 22 minutes.
• Sophomore Finis Craddock had one his best performances, tallying seven points in 22 minutes.

Jalin Thomas gives CMU 70-67 win at buzzer

NEW: Central Michigan Life talks with coach Ernie Zeigler, Jalin Thomas about the season-opening win here:

With the game tied at 67 in the final minute, senior guard Amir Rashid drew a charge against Cal State Fullerton’s Perry Webster, setting up the game-winning play.

“We called a timeout and talked about setting a screen with (Andre) Coimbra,” said CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler. “Trey (Zeigler) and Derek (Jackson) were both in and we told them to go make a play. Jalin stepped up.”

Freshman Zeigler took the ball the length of the court and found Thomas on the right wing, where he hit his third three-pointer of the night to give CMU the win.

Thomas, fighting the flu, went 7-of-18 shooting for the night, also grabbing four rebounds in the best game since playing under Zeigler.

“The emphasis has been starting the season off great,” Thomas said. “That’s something we didn’t do last year. I was really sick but being a senior and captain of this team, I knew I had to step up and show what battling through adversity is.”