Jan. 11, 2006
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio--Behind a 20-0 run to start the second half, Miami University's men's basketball team improved to 4-0 in Mid-American Conference play and 7-5 overall with a 66-49 win over Central Michigan University (2-10; 0-4 MAC) on Wednesday evening at Millett Hall.
William Hatcher scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, helping Miami take a 35-27 lead into the half. After CMU's Eddie Spencer knotted the game, 14-14, at the 9:56 mark, Miami staged a 12-0 run--highlighted a 3-pointer and layup by Hatcher, back-to-back fastbreak layups by Tim Pollitz and a trey from Doug Penno--which gave Miami a 26-14 lead with 6:27 left.
Another Tim Pollitz layup with 5:49 remaining in the half gave Miami another 12-point lead, 28-16. Seven points from Giordon Watson sparked a 9-0 Chippewa spurt to close the gap to three points by the 3:43 mark, 28-25. Monty St. Clair sunk a jumper and Chad Troyer nailed a 3-pointer to help build a cushion and Miami rode a 35-27 lead into the half.
Miami started the second half on a 20-0 scoring flurry with a balanced offensive attack over the first nine minutes to build a 55-27 lead by the 11:08 mark, 55-27. Watson knocked down a 3-pointer at the 10:53 mark to score the Chippewas' first bucket of the half. A St. Clair jumper with 7:37 left gave Miami its largest lead of the game, 64-32. The Chippewas went on a 15-2 run to round out the game and make the final score 66-49.
Hatcher was the lone RedHawk in double figures with his 19 points and added six assists in the winning effort. Doug Penno added nine points, while Nate VanderSluis and Monty St. Clair notched six rebounds apiece.
Watson led Central Michigan with 17 points, while Spencer added 10 points.
Miami hits the road to face Ball State on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4 p.m. before returning home to host Toledo Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
Notes: CMU went from the 3:43 mark in the first half to the 10:54 mark in the second half without hitting a field goal ... all 12 Miami players played at least eight minutes ... Miami is 4-0 to start the MAC season for the first time since the 1998-99 squad started league play 7-0 ... the win marked Miami's 10th straight win against the Chippewas.
