Box Score March 5, 2018
Box Score | Box Score (PDF) 
| Photo Gallery 
OXFORD, Ohio - Miami got revenge on rival Ohio when it mattered most with a 68-55 win in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Monday. Darrian Ringo matched a season-high in points with 21 while Logan McLane guarded the post with four blocks. The victory broke a seven-game losing streak to the Bobcats.
Ohio struck first with a three-pointer by James Gollon. After a RedHawk miss, the Bobcats made it 5-0 with an alley-oop to Doug Taylor.
Miami came down the court and got their first points of the evening with a Nike Sibande jumper that made it 5-2. That is when Ringo took over. He used his quick handles to drive to the basket three times - one of which was a powerful and-one after taking contact on the shot. He converted his free throw.
A jumper by Taylor made it 9-7, but Miami again went on a quick burst. They outscored the Bobcats 12-0 over the ensuing five minutes to make it 19-7 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. Three-pointers were drained by Isaiah Coleman-Lands and Nike Sibande during this run.
Ohio stopped the onslaught when Mike Laster converted one of his free throws after being fouled on a trip to the rim. Now 19-8, Gollon got a steal and hit Ohio's second field goal in their last 18 attempts. Laster tacked on two more on their next drive to make it 19-12. Miami's McClane got the home scoreboard moving again with a layup that made it 21-12. After a media timeout, a Jalen Adaway free throw and 3-pointer was split by a Rod Mills jumper that made it 24-14. The `Hawks started laying it on the Bobcats once more, this time going on a 9-2 run that made it 33-16 with just over two minutes left in the half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ringo, complimented by a big-time block in the post by McClane, pushed the Miami lead to a game-high 17 points at the half.
The RedHawks opened second half scoring with two free throws from Adaway, but Ohio's Taylor answered with an and-one to make it 35-21. This became part of a 13-6 run from the Bobcats that made it 39-29 three minutes into the half. The two traded blows, with Miami being led by two 3-pointers from Sibande. The first media timeout came at 15:17 with the scoreboard showing 44-33 in favor of Miami.
Coleman-Lands resumed action with a layup that made it 44-35. Ohio's Gollon quickly drained an open three to drop the Miami lead to single digits for the first time in nearly 13 minutes of game clock. Kirk's successful drive to the basket dropped the lead even further to seven and prompted a RedHawk timeout at 12:33.
Ringo's answer was to make the lead double digits again with an and-one layup, but he missed the free throw to leave the score at 48-39. Ohio took advantage of two fruitless Miami possessions and made the lead six with a 3-pointer by Laster.
Miami entered the bonus with an OU foul at 9:44, and Ringo drained both from the charity stripe to push the lead to 50-42. After an Ohio layup, a big offensive board and bucket by McClane made it 52-44. McClane was found by Ringo and his incredible court vision on each of the next two possessions and the Red & White extended their lead to 56-44 with 6:37 to go.
Ohio showed some life over the following few possessions, outscoring the `Hawks 6-2 to make it 58-50. But as the clock dipped below 2:00, Coleman-Lands drilled a 3-pointer that gave Miami an 11-point advantage. Adaway picked up a foul and hit both ensuing free throws to make it 63-50, and a missed OU 3-pointer forced them to start fouling with 1:05 remaining. It was on Ringo, and he swished both to put Miami up 15.
The remaining Miami free throws were just formalities, and the clock timed out showing 68-55 in favor of Miami.
With the win, the `Hawks have earned a trip to Cleveland for the second round of the MAC Tournament. They will square off with Toledo at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
