MOUNT PLEASANT -- Central Michigan posted an 11-21 record during the 2011-12 season and a 5-11 mark in Mid-American Conference play.  The Chippewas finished fifth in the MAC’s West Division.

Highlights from the season included a first-round MAC Tournament road win at Bowling Green, the capturing of the Michigan MAC Trophy presented by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and a two-game sweep of West Division champion Eastern Michigan.

The Chippewas started the year with a 4-2 record and ended the year winning four of the final eight games.  CMU was 6-6 at home in McGuirk Arena.

Zeigler Named All-MAC:  Trey Zeigler was named a third team All-Mid-American Conference selection by the league coaches.  He earned honorable mention laurels last season as a freshman.  Zeigler averaged 15.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, both team highs.

All-Freshman Team Honoree:  Freshman Austin McBroom became the 14th rookie in CMU history to earn MAC All-Freshman Team honors.  He started 30 games and averaged 10.9 points and 2.7 assists per game.  His points per game average was the second highest among league freshman.  McBroom also was one of the league’s top 3-point shooters hitting 56 treys at a .421 clip. 

Michigan MAC Champs:  Central Michigan captured the 2012 Michigan MAC Trophy, presented by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.  CMU ended the year with a 3-1 record against its in-state league foes Eastern Michigan (2-0) and Western Michigan (1-1).  It marked the second time since the award began in 2006 that the Chippewas took home the hardware.

A CMU First:  Trey Zeigler became the first player in CMU history to reach 1,000 career points as a sophomore.  He hit the milestone in CMU’s second-round MAC Tournament game against Toledo.  Zeigler ranks 27th on CMU’s career scoring chart with 1,011 points.

Sophomore Steal Artist:  Sophomore Derek Jackson was one of the top steal producers in the Mid-American Conference.  His 1.8 steals per game ranked third in the MAC and 68th nationally.  His 58 steals on the season tied for third on Central’s single-season list, just five shy of the school record of 63 set by Dave Grauzer in 1979.

Postseason Players:  Five of CMU’s non-conference opponents from the 2011-12 season advanced to postseason play.  Central faced three non-conference NCAA Tournament teams in Iowa State, New Mexico State and Temple.  The Chippewas also played at Minnesota (NIT) and Tennessee State (Collegeinsider.com Tournament).

Rookie Rankings:  Freshman Austin McBroom scored 339 points in his first season with the Chippewas.  That mark ranked as the fourth most by a frosh in school history while his 56 treys were the third-most by a CMU freshman in Chippewa annals. 

Road MAC Tournament Win:  No. 11 seeded Central Michigan won its first-round MAC Tournament game at No. 6 Bowling Green, 54-53, in dramatic fashion as a last-second putback attempt by the Falcons was waved off and also reviewed before it was determined that BGSU did not get the shot off in time.  It marked the third time since all teams began qualifying for the postseason league tournament in 2000 that the Chippewas won a first-round road game.

MAC Individual High:  Trey Zeigler poured in a career-high 33 points in a road loss at Toledo on Feb. 22.  It was the most points scored by a MAC player during the season in a league game and tied for the second highest individual scoring total overall by a league student-athlete during the year.

Getting the Starting Nod:  Eleven of the 14 players who saw action for the Chippewas started at least one game.  Derek Jackson started a team-high 31 times while Austin McBroom tallied 30 starts and Trey Zeigler 29.

Among the League Leaders:  Trey Zeigler finished the season ranked in the top 15 in the MAC in three categories — fourth in scoring (15.8), eighth in rebounding (6.7) and 15th in blocked shots (0.7).  In MAC play, he ranked third among league leaders in scoring (15.5), fifth in rebounding (6.9) and tied for 12th in blocks (0.8).

Keeping Turnovers Down:  The Chippewas committed the fewest turnovers in the MAC this season with just 12.3 per game.  On the year, CMU averaged a +2.2 turnover margin which ranked second best in the league.

Jackson Ranks Up There, Too:  Derek Jackson ranked among the MAC statistical leaders in five categories, including third in steals with 1.8 per game.  He also ranked fifth in 3-pointers made (2.1) and minutes (33.1), 10th in 3-point percentage (.382) and 18th in scoring (11.5).

Sweet Shot:  Freshman Austin McBroom was one of the league’s top shooters in terms of percentage.  He ranked fifth in the league in both 3-point percentage (.421) and free throw percentage (.816).  In fact, his free throw percentage in league action was second best at 86 percent.  McBroom ranked 11th in the league overall in 3-pointers made (1.8) and 23rd in scoring (10.9).

Great Alaska Shootout:  CMU finished in fourth place in the eight-team Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout during Thanksgiving week.  The Chippewas went 2-1 in the tournament falling to New Mexico State (78-49) in the first round before defeating UC Irvine (82-72) and Dartmouth (65-48).  It marked the program’s first visit to the state of Alaska in school history.

Derek From Downtown:  Derek Jackson drained a team-high 66 3-pointers on the season.  The sophomore shot 38 percent from the arc.  His 173 attempts from behind the arc ranked eighth on the school’s single-season chart while the 66 makes ranked 10th.

Senior Farewell:  Andre Coimbra blocked a team-high 33 shots to give him 65 for his two-year CMU career.  The JUCO transfer and Rio de Janeiro native ranked seventh in the league with 1.0 blocks per game.  He also averaged 7.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.  His rebounding average ranked 14th in the MAC.

Freshman Double-Figure Scorer:  Freshman point guard Austin McBroom averaged in double figures with 10.9 points per game. He became just the fourth CMU freshman to average in double figures in the last 15 years. The three to accomplish the feat in that span were Trey Zeigler (16.3 ppg) in 2011, Giordan Watson (10.3) in 2005 and Mike Manciel (17.5) in 1999.

Keel’s Debut:  Freshman Austin Keel had quite the collegiate debut.  The shooting guard came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points in the season-opening win over Ferris State.  It ended up as Keel’s season high.  Of his 34 field goals on the year, 24 of them were 3-pointers.

Zeigler Honored During the Season:  Trey Zeigler picked up a pair of honors during the season.  He was named to the all-tournament team at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout and for his efforts in the tournament he also was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week.  In the Shootout, Zeigler averaged 18.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in the three games.

Simons Signs for 2013:  CMU signed 6-8, 210-pound forward John Simons (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS) to a National Letter of Intent last fall.  This past season he was a unanimous Class B first team all-state selection by the Associated Press, Detroit Free Press and Detroit News.  Simons finished third in balloting for Michigan’s Mr. Basketball Award.  He averaged 28.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game as a senior.