CINCINNATI – The Miami University men's basketball team came out strong in the first few minutes against Xavier, but a cold shooting night allowed Xavier to pull away and take an 82-55 victory Wednesday evening. The RedHawks fall to 3-4 on the season, while the Musketeers improve to 4-3.
The RedHawks held a 41-34 rebounding advantage for the game, but finished the game 21-for-63 (33.3 percent) from the field. That and Xavier scoring 28 points off of 14 Miami turnovers proved to be the difference.
Junior forward
Bam Bowman was on fire to begin the contest. He drained a three on Miami's opening possession. After a bucket from sophomore forward
Dalonte Brown, a layup from Bowman gave the 'Hawks a 7-2 advantage at the 16:55 mark. Bowman added a free throw and another layup to give him 10 of MU's first 12 points as the Red and White led 12-10 with 14:24 to go.
The Musketeers took the lead for the first time on a three-pointer, but a tip-in by sophomore guard
Nike Sibande put the RedHawks back on top, 14-13. Xavier went on a 14-3 run over the next six minutes to build a 27-17 advantage with 8:16 to go. Miami fought back, as Bowman had back-to-back buckets, while a layup from Brown completed a 6-0 run that made it 27-23 at the 6:08 mark. The 'Hawks offense went cold the rest of the period as the Musketeers closed on a 15-5 run to take a 42-28 lead into the break.
Bowman scored 14 during the first half, but Miami was only able to hit 36.4 percent (12-for-33) of its shots, including 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from behind the arc. Xavier was 16-for-29 (55.2 percent) from the field during the frame.
Xavier opened the second half on a 10-1 run to increase the lead to 23 at 52-29. Three-pointers from Harouna and Sibande got Miami back to within 16 at 54-36 with 13:43 to go, but the Musketeers held the 'Hawks to only six points over the next six minutes as part of a 14-6 run that put the score out of reach.
Bowman led Miami with 15 points, while Harouna finished with 14. Sibande scored eight points and brought in seven rebounds, while Brown finished with seven points and had eight rebounds.
Miami returns to action on Saturday as it hosts Wilberforce inside Millett Hall. Tip time is 2 p.m. and it will air live on ESPN3.
