Feb. 14, 2010
Final Stats | Notes
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Senior guard Kenny Hayes scored a game-high-tying 17 points and helped the Miami University men's basketball team nearly erase a six-point deficit with 1:37 to play but his desperation three-pointer at the buzzer from just across mid-court fell short as Bowling Green squeaked by the RedHawks, 67-64, Sunday afternoon at Anderson Arena. The loss snapped Miami's five-game winning streak while the Falcons (13-11, 6-6 Mid-American Conference) earned a regular-season split with the RedHawks (11-14, 8-4 MAC).
Hayes went 5-for-10 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point land, scoring 12 of his 17 in the second half, while handing out four assists and playing all 40 minutes. Junior forward Nick Winbush recorded his second double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds and junior guard/forward Antonio Ballard chipped in 13 points. Erik Marschall led Bowling Green with 17 points while Scott Thomas pulled down 10 boards.
Miami shot 44.7 percent for the contest and 44.0 percent (11-for-25) from deep, while the Falcons hit at a 46.3 percent clip, but were just 3-for-13 from behind the arc. BGSU held a 34-27 advantage in rebounds, including 12 offensive boards. Forty of the Falcons' 67 points came in the paint.
The RedHawks came out hot, knocking down four of their first five shots, including triples from freshman guard Allen Roberts and Winbush, to grab a 10-2 lead less than four minutes into the contest. Miami extended the lead to 22-13 with 10:35 remaining in the half as Winbush buried three more trifectas and Ballard scored three the hard way. The Falcons then used a 10-2 spurt over the next six minutes to close within one at 24-23 but the 'Hawks finished on a 9-4 run of their own, with the final four points coming from Roberts, to take a 33-27 edge into the locker room.
Miami shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, including 6-of-10 from distance, while Bowling Green hit just 38.7 percent and went 0-for-6 from behind the arc. Winbush led the barrage from deep for the RedHawks, draining four-of-five attempts from distance for 12 points at the break to lead all scorers, while also snagging six boards. The Falcons did hold an 18-12 advantage on the glass in the first period, however, with half of their rebounds coming on the offensive end, which they turned into eight second-chance points.
BGSU came out of the half and quickly evened the contest at 33 just 3:33 into the stanza and grabbed its first lead of the game on its next possession as Otis Polk threw down a dunk and was fouled to make it 36-33. The Falcons made it a 14-0 run to open the half when Joe Jakubowski hit a three-pointer before Ballard hit a trey of his own for Miami's first bucket of the period to make it 41-36 at the 15-minute mark.
A Hayes triple followed by back-to-back layups from senior center Adam Fletcher gave the RedHawks the lead again at 47-45 with 10:30 remaining. The teams traded baskets until a Marschall layup put the Falcons back on top, 52-51, and Bowling Green would extend its lead to six until a Ballard lay-in stopped the bleeding with under 2:37 to play.
Down six with 1:37 to play, Hayes rallied Miami, scoring eight points, including two trifectas, for the 'Hawks while BGSU hit 3-of-4 freebies, to close the gap to one at 62-61 with 18 ticks to play. The RedHawks would close within one again with six ticks to play on a pair of Winbush free throw tosses, but Dee Brown also hit a pair from the charity stripe to make it a three-point game. Hayes was then fouled by Bowling Green to prevent Miami from tying with a triple and the 'Hawks were unable to grab Hayes' intentional free throw miss on his second attempt as the Falcons led 66-64. Miami fouled once more and trailed by three again on a Marc Larson freebie with two seconds to play, setting up Hayes' unsuccessful heave at the buzzer.
The RedHawks return to the court Wednesday, Feb. 17 when they host Akron to begin a two-game homestand. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Millett Hall.
--MURedHawks.com--
