Jan. 21, 2012
Box Score
Ohio 69, Miami 65 
ATHENS, Ohio--Miami University's men's basketball team led nearly the entire game, but an Ohio bucket with 1:29 to play put the Bobcats up for good as the RedHawks suffered a heartbreaking 69-65 loss at Ohio University (15-4; 3-2 Mid-American Conference) on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman guard Brian Sullivan paced the RedHawks (5-12; 1-4 MAC) with 16 points, while sophomore center Drew McGhee posted 10 points and a career-high six rebounds. Senior forward Julian Mavunga led all players with 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Quinten Rollins led all players with a career-high six assists.
Once again the RedHawks outshot their opponents, sinking more shots and shooting 50 percent from the field for the game and 42.5 percent from long-range. The RedHawks were plagued by fouls, however, as the Bobcats shot 27 free throws to the RedHawks' five.
Miami came out on fire in the first half, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and 72.7 percent from beyond the arc, draining eight first-half triples.
Miami took a quick 8-3 by the 15:41 mark off a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Josh Sewell. Ohio closed the gap to one points with 13:59 left in the first half, 8-7, but an 11-0 RedHawk flurry off a Sewell triple, a pair of McGhee buckets and a free throw from senior forward Adam Thomas pushed the RedHawk lead to double figures at the 10:27 mark, 19-7.
Brian Sullivan knocked down a 3-pointer at 9:28 to again give the Red and White a 12-point cushion, 22-10. Freshman guard Will Sullivan drained a triple at the 8:13 mark to put Miami's lead at 25-14, its last double figure lead of the game.
Ohio rattled off seven unanswered points to cut the Miami advantage to four points with 5:42 remaining in the half, 25-21. A Brian Sullivan trey with 1:36 remaining pushed the RedHawk lead to nine, 35-26, but Ohio answered right back with a 3-pointer. Rollins tossed in a layup with 41 seconds left to put Miami up eight, 37-29, but the Bobcats again responded with a layup with 12 seconds left to cut the Miami lead to six at the half, 37-31.
A bucket by Mavunga just 16 seconds into the second half gave Miami an eight point lead, and a McGhee dunk with 16:35 to play again up the RedHawks up eight, 43-35. Ohio staged a 12-2 run to post a 47-45 lead with 10:25 to play, the first Ohio lead since the opening bucket of the game.
But the RedHawks kept fighting.
A pair of layups by McGhee and a triple from sophomore forward Jon Harris with 8:18 remaining put Miami up five, 52-47. The Bobcats pulled within one with 7:29 left, 52-51, but Miami would not relent. Brian Sullivan knocked down a 3-pointer and Rollins tacked on a three-point play to extend the Miami lead to eight with 5:40 to play, 59-51.
A Thomas tip-in with 3:08 remaining gave Miami a six-point advantage, 63-57, but the RedHawks went just over three minutes without a basket as the Bobcats rattled off 10 unanswered points and closed out the game on a 12-2 run to inch out the 69-65 win.
Ohio's Ivo Baltic led all players with 20 points, while Walter Offutt added 15 points.
Miami begins its stretch against the MAC West Division when the RedHawks host Toledo at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
