Miami Downs Drake, 67-59, to Open Play at Gulf Coast Showcase

Monday, November 25

Fort Myers, Fla.

1:30 p.m. ET

Miami University

4-1

Drake

4-2

MIAMI

Drake

Miami Downs Drake, 67-59, to Open Play at Gulf Coast Showcase

11/25/2019 4:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Miami 67 Drake 59 (PDF)

ESTERO, Fla. – The Miami University men's basketball team used some great defense and overcame some early turnovers to defeat Drake, 67-59, in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Monday. With their fourth consecutive victory, the RedHawks improve to 4-1 on the season. The Bulldogs fall to 4-2.

Junior guard Nike Sibande came alive out of the halftime break with 12 second half points. He recorded his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Drake came into the game averaging nearly 80 points a game. Miami held it to a season-low tying 59 points and 19-for-54 (35.2 percent) shooting. The RedHawks forced the Bulldogs into 21 turnovers.

It was a quick start for the RedHawks as freshman guard Dae Dae Grant opened the scoring with a triple and then drained a jumper for a 5-0 lead. Triples from junior forward Dalonte Brown and senior forward Bam Bowman, along with a bucket and a pair of free throws from Sibande helped extend the advantage to 15-5 with 14:01 to go in the half.

The game got a bit sloppy at that point as each team committed multiple turnovers. Miami's shot went cold, as despite buckets from sophomore forward Elijah McNamara and Grant, the Bulldogs went on a 15-5 run over the next 10 minutes to tie the score at 20 with 4:03 to go.

A bucket by McNamara ended the 'Hawks scoring drought, but five straight for Drake gave it the lead for the first time in the game. After a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Mekhi Lairy, redshirt sophomore guard Isaiah Coleman-Lands hit a layup at the buzzer to send Miami into the break in front, 26-25.

The RedHawks were able to maintain the slight halftime lead despite shooting 9-for-24 (37.5 percent) and recording 13 turnovers.

Miami took much better care of the basketball in the second half as they nearly led wire-to-wire. After a free throw from Drake tied the score, a jumper from Grant and a three-pointer from Sibande put the RedHawks in front to stay. Leading 33-32, back-to-back three-pointers from Bowman and an old-fashioned three-point play from Sibande were part of a 13-1 run that made it 46-33 at the 12:28 mark.

A jumper by Brown gave Miami its largest lead of the game at 48-34 with 11:26 to go. The RedHawks' offense went cold as a 14-4 run by the Bulldogs cut their deficit to four at 52-48 at the 5:36 mark. Layups from Brown and Lairy extended the advantage back to seven before a Drake three-pointer made it 56-52 with 4:37 remaining.

The Bulldogs pulled within two before Sibande drove the lane for a key bucket. Drake got the ball back down two at 60-58 with 1:20 to go when Coleman-Lands got the key steal before the Bulldogs could get off the tying shot. Sibande hit a couple of free throws and then sealed the victory on the next possession with a jumper from the corner. The RedHawks hit their free throws over the final 30 seconds to earn the 67-59 win.

Miami finished the game 23-for-51 (45.1 percent) from the field. Brown scored 13 points, while Grant had 11. The RedHawks held Drake without a scorer in double figures, the first time Miami has done that since its win over Midway on Nov. 29, 2017.

The RedHawks will now take on South Alabama, a 74-62 winner over Northeastern in its first round match on Monday, in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Tip time is 5 p.m. and it will air live on FloHoops (subscription required). An audio broadcast will be available on the Miami Sports Network from Van Wagner.