Jan. 18, 2012

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Miami 65, Bowling Green 57

Press Conference Video

OXFORD, Ohio - In a furious finish, the Miami University men's basketball team nearly erased a 13-point second-half deficit, but could not quite complete the comeback as Bowling Green defeated Miami, 65-57, Wednesday evening at Millett Hall.

Senior forward Julian Mavunga paced the RedHawks with 17 points and a career best seven assists, while sophomore forward Jon Harris and junior center Vince Lagarza each grabbed a team-best five rebounds. Bowling Green's Jordan Crawford led all scorers with 25 points, a new career high, while Scott Thomas led all players with 11 boards and a Bowling Green record eight steals.

Neither team led by more than four points in the first half. Bowling Green (8-9, 2-2) opened up a four-point lead by the 15:45 mark on a jumper from Jordan Crawford, making the score 6-2. Miami (5-11, 1-3) used a 5-0 rally of off a jumper from sophomore center Drew McGhee and a triple sophomore forward Harris to claim a one-point edge with 14:10 remaining, 9-8.

The teams went back and forth, and the Falcons held a 22-19 lead with 3:39 to play. Freshman guard Brian Sullivan knocked down a pair of free throws and, coupled with a layup from Legarza, Miami took a one-point advantage with 2:03 to play, 23-22. A'uston Calhoun hit a jumper at 1:36 to give the Falcons back a one-point lead, but sophomore guard Quinten Rollins hit a layup and a 3-pointer from the corner by sophomore guard Josh Sewell with one second left handed Miami a four-point cushion heading into halftime, 28-24.

Bowling Green opened the second half on an 11-3 flurry to take a four-point lead with 16:06 remaining off a Dee Brown three-point play. Miami clawed its way back to knot the game off a McGhee jumper and a pair of Mavunga free throws, 35-35, with 14:28 left.

The RedHawks captured a 40-38 lead with 13:12 to play after a Sewell 3-pointer and then a put-back by Sewell. It was the last time that Miami would hold the lead, after which Bowling Green went on a 17-2 surge over the next 5:40 to take a 13-point lead with 7:10 to play, 55-42.

Sullivan knocked down a triple with 4:30 to play to end nearly a five-minute scoring drought for the RedHawks. He drained another 3-pointer to cut the lead to single digits with 3:38 to play, 56-48. After a bucket by Mavunga in the paint and a trey by Harris, Miami closed to within seven with 2:08 to play, 60-53. Mavunga's assist to Harris on the 3-pointer was his seventh of the game and tied a career-high.

Two Mavunga free throws with 1:10 remaining put Miami within five. Pressing on the Bowling Green in-bounds, Miami forced a turnover but was unable to convert on a shot. Forced to foul, the RedHawks sent the Falcons to the charity stripe six times, yielding five points and sealing the BGSU victory by a score of 65-57.

Miami hits the road for its next game, heading to Athens to take on the Ohio Bobcats this Saturday at 2 p.m.