Jan. 14, 2012
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Miami 52, Buffalo 51 
Game Notes
OXFORD, Ohio--In a thrilling, back-and-forth game Saturday night at Millett Hall the Miami University men's basketball team won, 52-51, giving the RedHawks their first MAC win of the season. Freshman guard Brian Sullivan led the way with 17 points.
Sophomore guard Quinten Rollins chipped in 13 points, while sophomore center Drew McGhee added 11 for Miami (5-10, 1-2). Javon McCrea and Mitchell Watt reached double figures for the Bulls (8-6, 1-2) with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Watt also pulled down 10 rebounds.
Sullivan got things started with a layup a minute into the game and then, after back-to-back jumpers by Buffalo's McCrea, Sullivan knocked down a trey to give Miami a 5-4 lead.
The back-and-forth nature of the opening minutes continued through the entire first half, as neither team held a lead greater than two until Buffalo grabbed a three-point lead with 34 seconds remaining. In total, Miami held the lead six times and Buffalo was in front 11 times. The RedHawks and the Bulls were tied up seven times in the opening half.
The 11 first-half points for Sullivan marked the sixth time this season that he has reached double-digits in scoring, with three of those instances coming in his last four games.
McCrea opened the second half with a basket to extend Buffalo's lead to five, but four points from McGhee and another 3-pointer from Sullivan countered a Buffalo trey and brought Miami back within one, making the score 31-30 with 15:31 left in the half. The points from McGhee and Sullivan were the catalyst for a 13-3 Miami scoring run that gave the RedHawks a 36-31 lead with 12:55 remaining in the half.
Buffalo answered quickly with four points of its own to come within one, and eventually regained the lead with 7:07 left in the game. Neither team pulled away from the other, and the score remained tied with 3:26 remaining, 47-47. Senior forward Julian Mavunga nailed a free throw 40 seconds later to give the RedHawks a one-point lead, and then sophomore forward Jon Harris drilled his first and only shot of the game, a dagger of a 3-pointer to put Miami ahead by four, 51-47.
After each team made a trip to the charity stripe, the score became 52-49 with eight seconds left, giving Buffalo with one last opportunity. The Bulls could only manage an off-balance attempt to tie in the final seconds, getting an inconsequential tip-in at the buzzer to make the final score 52-51.
Playing shorthanded, three Miami players played all 40 minutes: Sullivan (career high), Mavunga and Rollins (career high). But Miami held Buffalo, which averaged nearly 76 points per game, to just one 3-pointer on the night and forced 21 turnovers. Miami also capitalized on those mistakes, scoring 20 points off Buffalo miscues.
Miami's next game is Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Bowling Green at Millett Hall.
