Box Score |

Miami 77, Akron 64

OXFORD, Ohio -- Sophomore guard Abdoulaye Harouna erupted for 13-second half points to help the Miami University men's basketball team (10-18; 4-11 Mid-American Conference) seize a 77-64 win against the University of Akron (21-7; 10-5 MAC), upending the MAC leaders on Tuesday night inside Millett Hall.

Harouna ended the contest with a career-high 16 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Eric Washington filled the stat sheet with 13 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds. He had just one turnover for the contest Geovonie McKnight scored a team-best 20 points and chipped in four rebounds.

The RedHawks as a team shot 46.3 percent from the field, were 7-of-16 from behind the arc and 20-of-23 from the charity stripe. They also recorded just eight turnovers compared to Akron's 16.

It was a back-and-forth battle throughout the first half. Neither team led by more than three until a 3-pointer by Akron's Josh Williams put the Zips ahead 16-12 with just over 9:30 to play. The RedHawks put together a 6-2 run fueled by triples from sophomore guards Dion Wade and Harouna to knot the game at 18 apiece by the 8:14 mark. Again the Zips pushed ahead to a four-point lead, posting a 26-22 advantage with 3:20 to go in the opening half.

A balanced scoring attack with triples from McKnight and sophomore forward Rod Mills along with layups from Washington and senior forward Kalif Wright propelled Miami to a 10-1 flurry to close the half as the RedHawks carried a 32-27 advantage into the intermission.

McKnight led the way for the Red and White in the opening half with nine points, while Washington handed out five assists and had just one turnover. As a team, the RedHawks amassed 10 assists, five steals and had just three turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action.

The Zips opened the second half with five unanswered points to even the game at 32-32 by the 18:16 mark. Again the teams slugged it out, going back and forth until a 3-pointer from Harouna, his fourth in five attempts for the night, a layup from Wright, two free throws from Mills and a layup from senior forward Chris Bryant put the RedHawks up 59-50 with 5:48 to go. The Zips halted the 9-0 Miami run with a layup with at 4:39, their first field goal in nearly nine minutes.

Miami pushed its lead to double figures when McKnight sunk a pair of free throws with just over two minutes to play to hand Miami a 65-54 lead. Miami finished the contest connecting on 10-of-11 free throws to extend the lead as time expired.

Miami continues a two-game home stand when the RedHawks host Kent State at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27. Saturday's game is the last McFamily and Friends day with a pre-purchase ticket package that includes four game ticket and four McDonald's Extra Value Meal vouchers for just $30. Call the Miami Athletics Ticket Office at (513) 529-4295 or purchase online at www.MiamiRedHawks.com.