OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University men's basketball team claimed a 79-59 win over Ohio on Saturday afternoon inside Millett Hall in the annual Battle of the Bricks. The win moves the RedHawks to 13-11 overall and 5-6 in MAC play while the Bobcats fall to 11-11, 3-7. This is Miami's biggest win over OU since the RedHawks beat Ohio 73-49 back in 2008.
Miami great Wayne Embry was honored throughout the game as Miami Athletics celebrated Wayne Embry Day. Embry was a 1958 graduate from Miami who still ranks 12th all-time in scoring with 1,401 points and second in rebounds with 1,117 boards.
Four RedHawks finished in double figures, led by
Bam Bowman's career high 23.
Darrian Ringo (14),
Nike Sibande (13) and
Jalen Adaway (10) also scored at least 10 points, while
Abdoulaye Harouna just missed out, scoring nine.
The RedHawks dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Bobcats 47-29 and outscored OU by 13 from the foul line. Miami connected on 24-of-31 free throws, while Ohio was just 11-of-21 from the line. Bowman had a season-high 12 rebounds and
Dalonte Brown added 10 boards.
Miami raced out to an 8-3 start, capped by a four-point play from Harouna to begin the contest. The Bobcats answered back with a three-point basket to close the gap to 8-6, but a 15-4 Miami run pushed the lead to 23-10 with 9:33 remaining in the first half.
Ohio cut Miami's advantage to 36-25 after back-back three pointers with 3:44 left in the half, but that was where Bowman took over. The junior scored nine straight points for the RedHawks to stretch the lead to 45-27.
Mekhi Lairy closed the first half scoring with a jumper from the foul line to send the teams to their locker rooms with Miami leading 47-27.
As expected in a rivalry game, Ohio would not go away easily. To open the second half the Bobcats scored 10 of the first 12 points to cut Miami's lead to 12. Bowman would once again help Miami extend its lead with a pair of layups as the RedHawks held a 53-39 advantage with 15:49 remaining in the game.
The Bobcats cut Miami's lead to six with an 8-0 run, forcing
Jack Owens to call a timeout with 12:57 left in regulation. The timeout was exactly what the 'Hawks needed. Harouna scored five straight points and layups from Bowman and Lairy pushed the score back to 62-47 with just over 10 minutes to play.
Ohio would get no closer.
The RedHawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. when they face Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. The contest will be carried live on ESPN3.
