March 4, 2010
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OXFORD, Ohio -- Senior Kenny Hayes scored six of his team-high 17 points during an 11-0 second-half run to lead Miami to a 73-62 win over Buffalo Thursday night at Millett Hall. Julian Mavunga also tallied 17 points while grabbing three rebounds and blocking three shots.
Despite the win, Miami must wait another day for its Mid-American Conference Tourament seeding, pending tomorrow's Kent State-Akron game. The RedHawks would earn the No. 4 seed and a bye with a Golden Flashes' win, while they would host Toledo as the No. 5 seed if the Zips win. Buffalo is in the opposite situation as it tied with Miami in the final standings.
Miami (13-17, 9-7) held a slim 35-33 lead just three minutes into the second half when it broke the game open. Mavunga made a conventional three-point play to start a 21-7 run as the RedHawks opened a 56-40 advantage. The spurt finished with 11 straight points, including three layups by Hayes.
From there, the Bulls never mounted a serious challenge, closing to within single digits just once, 70-62 with 16 seconds left to play. Miami connected on 52.2 percent from the floor in the second half, while limiting Buffalo to a 27.8-percent effort after intermission. All of the RedHawks' season-high nine blocked shots came in the second half.
Miami was up 33-29 at the break after a closely-contested first half. There were five lead changes and five ties as each team could only manage a four-point lead as the biggest margin.
Buffalo (17-11, 9-7) opened a 6-2 lead early, then held a 21-18 advantage with 5:42 left before Miami answered with a surge. The RedHawks scored four straight points to start a 7-2 run that put Miami to a 25-23 edge. The teams were tied at 27 when the RedHawks hit back-to-back baskets to go back ahead.
Mitchell Watt paced the Bulls with 17 points and six rebounds, while Rodney Pierce added 16 points and six boards. Calvin Betts tallied 12 rebounds.
Should Miami host a Toledo on Sunday, the game would start at 3 p.m. If Miami advances straight to Cleveland, the quarterfinal game would take place Thursday night.
