Mbaigoto, Chippewas tame Anteaters

ANCHORAGE – Central Michigan's Olivier Mbaigoto scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds Friday to lead his team to an 82-72 victory over UC Irvine in the consolation semifinals of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena.

The Chippewas (3-2) also got 21 points and seven rebounds from sophomore guard Trey Zeigler as they opened the game on a 12-0 run and were never seriously challenged.

The Anteaters (0-5) were led by 19 points and 10 rebounds from guard Michael Wilder, who knocked down 5 of 11 three-point tries. Forward Will Davis added a game-high 11 points for the Big West Conference squad.

CMU shot 50 percent (11 of 22) from three-point range, with point guard Derek Jackson racking up seven assists and no turnovers. Meanwhile, the Chippewas' pair of international big men – Mbaigoto, from Chad, and Andre Coimbra, from Brazil – combined for seven blocked shots and 17 rebounds.

CMU advances to the 4th/6th-place game against Dartmouth on Saturday at 2 p.m. AST, while UCI will take on host Alaska Anchorage for 7th place Saturday at noon.

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