Nov. 22, 2010
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OXFORD, Ohio - Miami mounted a 12-point comeback to tie No. 18 San Diego State early in the second half, but the Aztecs used a late 25-0 run to take a 77-56 win over the RedHawks in the finale of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Sub-Regional Monday night at Millett Hall.
Miami (2-3) was led for the third-straight game by senior Nick Winbush, who recorded 12 points and six rebounds on his way to landing on the all-tournament team.
Senior D.J. Gay led San Diego State (5-0) with 19 points and four assists as the Aztecs remained perfect on the season. Sophomore Kawhi Leonard pulled in 13 boards, scored 12 points and added four assists and was named tournament MVP. Senior Malcolm Thomas, who scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, joined Winbush and Leonard on the all-tournament team along with Steven Thomas from IUPUI and Rahmon Fletcher from Green Bay.
SDSU struck first on the opening possession to take the 2-0 lead, but Miami responded with six unanswered to lead 6-2 with 17:45 to play. The teams traded points over the next two minutes as the RedHawks stayed out in front.
The Aztecs switched to a full-court press with just under 16 minutes to go in the first, but Miami quickly broke the press and used crisp passes to get a Winbush layup and take a 13-6 lead.
The RedHawks continued their run by forcing turnovers and getting free throws from Winbush and a long two from sophomore Allen Roberts to grab their largest lead of the game at 17-6 with 13:37 to go in the first half.
San Diego State responded with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 17-17 just over two minutes later. The Aztecs were led in the run by sophomore James Rahon's four points. SDSU added to the run with five more points to snatch the lead before Winbush scored on a layup to make it 22-19 with just over eight minutes to play in the first.
The Aztecs eventually stretched the lead to 12 at 34-22 with 3:27 to go in the opening period with a 12-3 run led by Thomas's six points and capped by Gay's three-pointer.
Miami, however, refused to give up as the RedHawks closed out the first half on a 12-5 run to pull within five at 39-34 heading into the break. During that run, Roberts scored seven points on a layup, two free throws and a three that dropped with just three seconds to go in the half.
Leonard pulled in 10 rebounds and added six points in the first half for the Aztecs while Thomas led all scorers in the opening 20 minutes with 12 points. For the RedHawks, Winbush and Roberts led the way with nine first-half points each.
In the second half Miami continued to battle back as Winbush hit a three and senior Antonio Ballard made a driving layup to tie the game at 39-39 with 17:48 to go.
SDSU, however, broke a scoring drought of more than four minutes when Gay hit a free throw to put the visitors back up by one. The one-point lead grew to a 64-39 cushion as the Aztecs went on a 25-0 run over the next 12 minutes to break the game open. San Diego State added a 7-4 run to push the lead to 28 points with just over four minutes remaining.
Junior Chris McHenry connected on three treys and freshman Josh Sewell added another down the stretch as the RedHawks cut the lead to 18 at 73-55 on a layup by sophomore Vince Legarza with 1:22 to play. However it was too little, too late as the clock wound down with SDSU comfortably ahead.
Miami's next challenge is a trip to No. 3 Ohio State on Friday, Nov. 26 at 4 p.m. before returning home to Millett Hall to face rival Xavier on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
