March 1, 2007
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio--Junior forward Tim Pollitz recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-best 10 rebounds, but Miami University's men's basketball team was stymied offensively in the second half as the RedHawks suffered a 52-45 loss at Ohio University on Thursday evening.
The loss dropped the Red and White to 15-13 on the season and 10-5 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Bobcats moved to 18-11 overall and 9-6 in league action.
Senior forward Nathan Peavy opened the scoring by knocking down a 3-pointer at the 19:01 mark of the first half. Ohio would take a 5-3 lead off a Whitney Davis 3-pointer and a 7-6 edge off a Leon Williams layup. After freshman guard Alex Moosmann nailed a 3-pointer, Ohio's Sonny Troutman sunk a pair of free throws to knot the score, 9-9, at the 11:47 mark.
Tim Pollitz tossed in a layup and Moosmann hit another trey to hand the RedHawks a 14-9 lead at the 11:00 mark. Ohio would close within one off a Kenneth van Kempen 3-pointer, but a Tim Pollitz jumper and a senior center Monty St. Clair 3-pointer gave the Red and White a six-point lead, 23-17, with 7:09 to play in the first half. The Bobcats would close within four points twice, but a Tim Pollitz layup with 36 seconds remaining would send Miami into the half with a 29-23 lead.
Peavy opened the scoring in the second half, knocking down another 3-pointer to give the RedHawks a 32-23 lead with 19:36 to play. Peavy hit a jumper with 15:58 remaining to hand Miami its largest lead of the game, 36-26. That, however, would be the RedHawks' last field goal of the game. Ohio went on an 8-0 run, capped by a Bubba Walther layup with 13:32 to play to pull within two of the RedHawks, 36-34.
Sophomore guard/forward Michael Bramos was fouled on a 3-pointer attempt and knocked down all three free throws to put Miami at a five-point advantage with 12:45 to play, 39-34. A 7-0 Ohio run, capped by a Jerome Tillman layup at 9:25, gave the Bobcats their first lead since 12:21 of the first half, 41-39. Tim Pollitz sunk 3-of-4 free throws to give Miami a one-point edge, 42-41 with 7:52 remaining. A Williams layup at 7:25 to start a 7-0 Ohio run gave the Bobcats the lead for good as they went on to post a 52-45 win.
The RedHawks shot just 37.5 percent for the game, including 17.6 percent in the second half. It was Miami's worst shooting effort in MAC play and its worst since shooting 36.0 percent against Michigan on Dec. 7.
In addition to Tim Pollitz's double-double, Peavy led the ReHawks in scoring with 13 points.
Davis led all scorers with 15 points, while Tillman added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Bobcats.
Miami concludes the regular-season at Bowling Green on Sunday, March. 4. Tip time has been moved to noon, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Net Ohio. A Miami win or an Ohio loss on Sunday would give the RedHawks a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament.
