ATHENS, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team suffered through a tough second half from the field as Ohio earned a 66-57 victory in the regular season finale on Friday. The RedHawks are 15-16 overall and finish 7-11 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats are 14-16 overall and 6-12 in the MAC.

It was a history making night for sophomore guard Nike Sibande. With a jumper early in the second half, he became the 35th member of Miami's 1,000-point club. He is the first to accomplish this feat while still in his sophomore season. He led the team with 22 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes of action.

Overall though the RedHawks struggled from the field, finishing 19-for-67 (28.4 percent). They did a strong job on the Bobcats defensively, holding them to 20-for-52 (38.5 percent) shooting, including 4-for-20 (20.0 percent) from behind the line. Ohio was able to win the game from the charity stripe however, finishing 22-for-26 (84.6 percent).

A dunk by sophomore forward Dalonte Brown, a three-pointer from freshman guard Mekhi Lairy and a layup by sophomore guard Jalen Adaway helped Miami jump to a 7-0 lead to begin the game. Sibande got on the board with a driving layup and scored an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 12-3 at the 14:02 mark.

The Bobcats scored the next five points to pull within four. Sibande drained a pair of three-pointers as part of a 12-5 run that gave the RedHawks a 24-13 advantage with 6:59 to go. Lairy and senior guard Darrian Ringo each had triples to help Miami maintain the 11-point lead at 30-19. Ohio went on a 6-0 run before a jumper by Sibande at the buzzer sent the Red and White into the break in front, 32-25.

A jumper from Sibande and a three-pointer by Lairy gave Miami its largest lead at 37-25 at the 18:18 mark. The RedHawks were unable to score a field goal over the next seven minutes as the Bobcats went on a 15-3 run to pull within one at 41-40 with 11:53 to go.

A three-pointer by Brown at the 10:50 mark ended the scoring drought. Back-to-back baskets from Sibande and Brown pushed the lead back to five at 49-44 with 6:33 to go.

Ohio went on an 8-2 run to take the lead for the first time in the game at 52-51 with 4:13 to go. Two free throws from Ringo gave the advantage right back to Miami, but a layup from the Bobcats gave them the lead for good at the 3:23 mark. They hit their free throws down the stretch to close the game on a 14-4 run to finish off the 66-57 victory.

Lairy scored a career-high 16 points for the RedHawks. Junior forward Bam Bowman led Miami with 11 rebounds. The Red and White held a 44-38 rebounding advantage over the Bobcats. Ohio was led by Jason Carter with 26 points.

Miami will be the ninth seed in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament and will travel to the eighth seed Monday for a first round game. Check back with MiamiRedHawks.com later Friday for more MAC Tournament information.