Miami University
Michigan
Comeback Effort Not Enough In 62-56 RedHawk Loss
12/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2006
OXFORD, Ohio (AP) - Dion Harris scored 20 points Thursday night, and Michigan wasted most of an 18-point lead before holding on for a 62-56 victory over Miami of Ohio.
The Wolverines (9-1) were playing only their second road game of the season. Their other road game resulted in their only loss - 74-67 to North Carolina State. This one opened with a 24-6 spurt, followed by unexpected drama.
Miami cut the 18-point gap to a two-point deficit early in the second half before stalling. Michael Bramos led the RedHawks (3-6) with a career-high 22 points.
Center Courtney Sims, the Wolverines' leading scorer at 16.1 point per game, played only 5 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. He finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Michigan has played in Oxford only one other time, a 79-48 victory in 1949. The Wolverines are 5-1 overall in their series. The crowd of 6,112 was the largest at Millett Hall in two years.
The RedHawks were playing their second game in three days, fresh off a 64-40 loss at Illinois State on Tuesday. In the opening minutes, it was all they could do to get off a shot.
Michigan's tight, trapping defense created big problems for Miami's plodding offense, setting up the 24-6 opening spurt. Miami turned the ball over on its first three possessions, and was only 2-of-11 with eight turnovers during the Wolverines' run.
At that point, Miami had more shots blocked (3) than made (2).
Coach Tommy Amaker then put the Wolverines in a zone defense, and Miami settled down and averted the blowout. Bramos made a pair of open 3-pointers over the zone as Miami trimmed it to 35-25 at halftime.
Tim Pollitz's layup capped an 8-0 run that opened the second half and cut it to 35-33. Michigan missed both of its shots and had four turnovers during the spurt.
The momentum switched again when freshman reserve forward Ekpe Udoh got a three-point play, a tip-in and a block in succession, helping the Wolverines rebuild the lead to 11 points.
Miami made one last run. Bramos' 3-pointer and a driving layup by Alex Moosmann cut it to 60-56 with 20 seconds left, but Michigan made a pair of free throws to clinch it.
