Miami University
15-14
Buffalo (Swoop's Kids Club Day)
26-3
RedHawks Comeback Falls Just Short in 77-69 Setback to No. 21 Buffalo
3/1/2019 11:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Bulls came out on fire in the first four minutes, racing to an 18-0 lead at the first media timeout with 15:29 to go. Having given a chance to catch their breath and regroup, back-to-back jumpers made by junior forward Bam Bowman and redshirt sophomore forward Precious Ayah got the RedHawks on the board. Trailing 23-6, a 9-0 run featuring buckets from Bowman and freshman guard Mekhi Lairy and a three-pointer from sophomore forward Dalonte Brown cut the lead to 23-15 at the 10:01 mark.
Nice feed from @King_Khi2 finds @32_markeith for the layup!#RiseUpRedHawks pic.twitter.com/IFoQ16BSTH
— MiamiOH Basketball (@MiamiOH_BBall) March 2, 2019
A 12-2 run by Buffalo pushed the advantage back to 18 at 35-17 with 5:36 to go. Lairy and redshirt sophomore guard Milos Jovic hit back to back-jumpers while Brown drained a three as Miami went on an offensive explosion to close out the half. Sophomore guard Nike Sibande scored five straight points on his own as the RedHawks completed a 14-0 run to pull within four at 35-31. The teams trade points as the Bulls took a 37-33 lead into the break.
Step back 3 for Dalonte Brown!#RiseUpRedHawks pic.twitter.com/PxjC0UhmPh
— MiamiOH Basketball (@MiamiOH_BBall) March 2, 2019
This 3 from @nike_sibande caps a 14-0 Miami run that cut the deficit to 4!#RiseUpRedHawks pic.twitter.com/PPmW3jq0lx
— MiamiOH Basketball (@MiamiOH_BBall) March 2, 2019
A jumper by redshirt senior guard Abdoulaye Harouna opened the second half and got Miami within two. The teams continued to trade buckets as the RedHawks would get close but could not quite get the tying basket. Sibnade made a jumper to pull Miami within three at 44-41, but an 8-0 Buffalo run made it an 11-point advantage at 52-41 at the 13:54 mark.
The Bulls eventually took a 15-point lead at 67-52 with 8:38 to go. Miami again battled back as layups from Sibande and Lairy began an 11-0 run that pulled the 'Hawks within four at 67-63 at the 4:08 mark. Buffalo hit a triple on its next possession, but Sibande answered with a jumper, while two free throws from Brown made it a three-point game at 70-67 with 2:31 remaining. After a Buffalo made an old-fashioned three-point play, Harouna drained a jumper in the paint to make it 73-69 at the 1:00 mark. The Bulls' Nick Perkins then hit a three-pointer which helped put the game away for Buffalo.
Sibande and Brown led Miami with 15 points apiece. Bowman had a double-double with 13 points and career-high tying 13 rebounds. The RedHawks shot 24-for-60 (40.0 percent) from the floor, but were hurt by going 4-for-20 (20.0 percent) from three-point range. The Bulls held a 44-38 rebounding advantage, and were led by CJ Massinburg with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Miami returns to action with its home finale on Tuesday against Kent State at 7 p.m. It will air live on ESPN+. Following the game, the 'Hawks will honor senior Harouna, Darrian Ringo and Aleks Abrams in a postgame Senior Day ceremony.
