March 4, 2007

Final Stats

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio--A 24-1 Bowling Green run from the end of the first half and into the second half sunk the RedHawks as Miami University's men's basketball team was edged by the Falcons 68-64 in the Mid-American Conference regular-season finale for each team.

Miami, 15-14 overall, finished MAC play with a 10-6 mark, while Bowling Green moved to 13-17 on the season and 3-13 in MAC action.

Neither team led by more than three points in the opening stages of the first half until the RedHawks took a four-point advantage off a sophomore guard Eric Pollitz 3-pointer at the 9:22 mark, 19-15. BGSU's Martin Samarco responded with a 3-pointer, but the RedHawks rattled off six unanswered points, four coming from sophomore guard/forward Michael Bramos, to extend their lead to seven points, 25-18. Senior forward Nathan Peavy nailed a jumper and the ensuing free throw with 3:33 to play in the first half to give the RedHawks their largest lead of the game, 31-22.

Brian Moten would toss in a layup for the Falcons to start the 24-1 Bowling Green run at the 2:53 mark of the first half. BGSU closed out the half on 5-0 surge to close the gap to four points heading into halftime, 31-27.

Nate Miller scored six of Bowling Green's nine points to open the second half and hand the Falcons a five-point lead, 36-31. Senior forward Monty St. Clair sunk one of two free-throw attempts at the 16:54 mark to temporarily halt the Falcon scoring surge and put the RedHawks within four, 36-32. Bowling Green, however, rattled off 10 unanswered points, seven coming from Samarco, to capture a 14-point lead with 13:55 to play, 46-32. Bramos would end the run with a 3-point play, but Bowling Green came right back with a 3-pointer by Ryan Hamblet to regain a 14-point advantage, 49-35.

Miami stormed back with a 14-0 run to knot the game with 8:06 to play, 49-49. After Bramos and Peavy each knocked down one of two free-throw attempts, Bramos drilled a 3-pointer at the 11:11 mark to put Miami within nine. Peavy put in a layup, junior forward Tim Pollitz added a 3-point play and Bramos knocked down two more free throws to shrink the gap to two points, 49-47. A Peavy tip-in with 8:06 to play knotted the game 49-49 and capped the 14-0 Miami run.

Hamblet knocked down a 3-pointer at the 7:55 mark to put the Falcons up for good, 52-49. Miami would close within one point three times down the stretch, the last coming off a Bramos trey with 1:03 to play, 62-61. Hamblet hit a jumper with 30 seconds remaining and then went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to spur the Falcons to the 68-64 win.

Bramos led Miami with 19 points and a career-high eight boards, while Tim Pollitz added 18 points and Peavy tallied 16 points and three blocked shots. Senior guard Doug Penno amassed a career-high nine assists and added six rebounds.

Hamblet led all scorers with 28 points, while Samarco added 21 points and Miller chipped in 11.

Miami will either be the No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament depending on the outcomes of remaining league games on Sunday. If Miami is the No. 4 seed, it will play the winner of the No. 5/No. 12 game at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 8. If Miami is the No. 5 seed, it will play the No. 12 seed at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7.