OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team (9-9, 1-4 MAC) beat Akron (10-8, 2-3 MAC) by a 68-61 margin on Saturday.
Darrian Ringo scored 16 points and totaled nine assists.
Bam Bowman picked up a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Nike Sibande scored the first two points of the game on a layup before Akron put up six-straight to take a 6-2 lead with 16:50 remaining in the first half. Miami answered with an 8-0 run, started by a three-pointer from
Abdoulaye Harouna.
Â
Â
Akron tied the game at 12 points before taking a 14-12 lead.
Milos Jovic gave Miami the lead back midway through the first half with a three-point shot.
Â
Â
The Zips went on a 10-0 run over three minutes of play to take a 26-19 lead with 5:32 left in the first half. The RedHawks responded with eight-straight points to take a 27-26 lead.
Bam Bowman and Harouna each sunk a shot from behind the arc during the run.
Â
Â
The teams ended the first half of play tied at 30.
Akron scored the first four points of the second half to take a 34-30 lead but Miami tied the game at 34. The teams were tied again at 36 points apiece before the Zips jumped out to a 43-36 lead with 13 minutes to play.
Miami scored 11 points in a row, six of those coming on back-to-back three-point shots from Jovic and Ringo.
Â
Â
With eight minutes remaining, the RedHawks held a 47-43 lead. The Zips cut that lead to two points before Miami put together a 10-0 scoring run to take a 57-45 lead with five minutes to play. This run also included three-pointers from Bowman and
Dalonte Brown as the 'Hawks continued shooting well from long range.
Â
Â
Akron put together a 9-2 run to decrease Miami's lead to five. The RedHawks led 59-54 with 1:09 to play. Ringo and
Jalen Adaway each made two free throws to increase Miami's lead to 63-54 with 44 seconds remaining. Scoring was capped at 68-61 as the buzzer sounded.
Miami travels to Ball State on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Â
