ATHENS, Ohio – A tough shooting performance in the first half created too large of a deficit for the Miami University men's basketball team to overcome as it fell to Ohio, 77-46, Saturday afternoon in Athens. The RedHawks are now 9-14 overall and 2-8 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats improve to 11-12 overall and 3-7 in the MAC.
The first half proved to be the undoing for Miami as it finished the period 3-for-29 (10.3 percent) from the field. The 'Hawks did better in the second half, finishing 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) from the field, but were unable to sustain an offensive run.
Redshirt freshman guard
Myja White led off the scoring with a driving layup to give Miami a 2-0 lead. After an Ohio triple, junior guard
Nike Sibande drained a three-pointer to put the RedHawks on top 5-3 with 17:05 to go in the half before the shooting drought began.
Miami did not score for the next 10:05 of the period. The 'Hawks defense held strong keeping Ohio with only five points for the first five minutes of that drought. The Bobcats began to heat up, eventually increasing their advantage to 18-5 before a pair of Sibande free throws ended Miami's scoring drought. The RedHawks did not get their next field goal until redshirt sophomore guard
Isaiah Coleman-Lands drained a three-pointer with 22 seconds to go, sending Miami into the break trailing, 34-11.
The RedHawks showed fight in the second half as sophomore forward
Elijah McNamara had a dunk and a layup. After trailing by 32 at 48-16 with 14:07 to go, Miami got as close as 19 at 58-39 at the 8:28 mark before another scoring drought allowed the Bobcats to finish off the win.
Sibande led Miami with 12 points, while Lairy and McNamara each had eight. Jason Preston had a triple double of 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Ohio.
The RedHawks return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Toledo for a 7 p.m. game that will air live on ESPN+. Miami's next home game comes on Saturday, Feb. 15 when it hosts Northern Illinois at 3:30 p.m. as part of One Miami Weekend, a celebration of the University faculty and staff, as well as the greater Oxford community.
