OXFORD, Ohio – A season-best 15 three-pointers and a 50 percent overall shooting performance from the field helped lead the Miami University men's basketball team to its third straight win, an 85-79 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday. The RedHawks improve to 6-4 on the season, while the Mastodons fall to 6-6.
Sophomore guard
Nike Sibande led Miami with 24 points, including four 3-pointers. He scored 16 points in the second half, helping hold off Purdue Fort Wayne's comeback attempt. Sophomore forward
Dalonte Brown had 21 points for the 'Hawks.
Miami was 15-for-35 from behind the arc with six different RedHawks draining a long ball. In addition to Sibande's four triples, Brown had three, while junior forward
Bam Bowman, senior guard
Darrian Ringo and sophomore guard
Isaiah Coleman-Lands had two each.
It was a frenetic pace to start the contest as three-pointers from Ringo and Brown gave the RedHawks a 9-6 lead. Sibande hit a triple of his own, while Ringo stole the ball and found sophomore guard
Jalen Adaway for an easy layup to make it 14-8 with 14:56 to go. Two triples from Brown and one from freshman guard
Mekhi Lairy gave Miami a 23-14 advantage at the 12:32 mark.
After the Mastodons cut the deficit to six points, Ringo found Brown for a layup in the paint to get the Red and White rolling again. Ringo had an old-fashioned three-point play, while Sibande drained another three to give Miami its largest lead of the game at 35-23 with 8:19 to go.
Purdue Fort Wayne went on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to close within one at 37-36. Coleman-Lands came in off the bench and answered with two triples to make it 43-39 at the 2:11 mark. Ringo drove it in for another layup, but a three-pointer from the 'Dons sent the teams into the break with Miami on top, 45-44.
A three-pointer from freshman forward Elijah McNamara and a jumper by Brown quickly put the RedHawks back up by six to begin the second half. Purdue Fort Wayne continued to keep it close, but each time it got within one possession, Miami would hit a key bucket. That included a three-pointer by Sibande that made it 61-56 with 13:01 to go.
After a Sibande steal and dunk gave the RedHawks a 63-60 advantage at the 10:58 mark, a 9-0 run over the next 2:10 gave the Mastodons their largest lead at 69-63 with 8:48 to go. A key three-pointer from Bowman ended the run, while a layup from Brown cut the deficit to one. Bowman drained another three-pointer to put Miami in front once again, while a jumper by Adaway completed a 10-0 run and made it 73-69 at the 4:15 mark.
Purdue Fort Wayne did not give up, scoring the next five points to take a 74-73 lead with 3:41 to go. Sibande hit a pair of free throws to begin the next RedHawk run. Back-to-back triples by Sibande and Ringo gave Miami an 81-74 advantage at the 1:25 mark. While the 'Hawks missed some free throws down the stretch to allow the Mastodons to pull within four, Ringo and Coleman-Lands each drained a pair in the final minute to help secure the 85-79 win.
Ringo scored 13 points and had seven assists, two steals and a block for Miami. Coleman-Lands finished with eight for the RedHawks. Miami shot 30-for-60 (50.0 percent) for the game, while Purdue Fort Wayne had 30-for-56 (53.6 percent) shooting. The RedHawks forced 17 Mastodon turnovers, which helped them overcome a monster game by John Konchar, who led Purdue Fort Wayne with 28 points and 14 rebounds.
Miami is off for the next eight days as it takes finals exams. The RedHawks return to action on Sunday, Dec. 16 when they travel to Northern Kentucky. Tip time is 7 p.m. and it will air live on Fox Sports Ohio.
