BUFFALO, N.Y. – Junior guard
Nike Sibande made sure the 12th-seeded Miami University men's basketball team's season did not end as he led the RedHawks to an 85-79 victory over fifth-seed Buffalo in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Monday. The RedHawks improve to 13-19 on the season, while the Bulls fall to 20-12.
With the victory, Miami advances to Cleveland where it will take on the fourth-seed Northern Illinois in a MAC Quarterfinal game on Thursday at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Game time will be approximately 2:30 p.m.
Sibande scored a career-high 31 points on 10-for-14 shooting. That included 23 points in the first half as he helped pull the RedHawks out of an early deficit.
As a team, Miami shot 46.7 percent (28-for-60) and 40.0 percent (8-for-20) from behind the arc. The 'Hawks came up clutch from the line, hitting 21-for-24 (87.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
Buffalo jumped to an 8-0 lead only 1:32 into the game forcing head coach
Jack Owens to use an early timeout. Miami came out inspired after the quick break as a bucket from sophomore forward
Elijah McNamara, a triple from redshirt sophomore guard
Isaiah Coleman-Lands and a layup from Sibande put Miami on the board. An old-fashioned three-point play from Sibande cut the deficit to 13-12 with 15:34 left in the half.
The Bulls responded with a 12-5 run to build their largest lead of the half at 25-17 at the 11:33 mark. Freshman guard Dae Dae Grant scored the next seven points in a row to pull Miami within one. Another and-1 opportunity by Sibande tied the score at 27 with 8:30 remaining.
The RedHawks took the lead for the first time on a Sibande triple. UB took it right back with a three-pointer of its own, but Sibande answered with another three that made it 39-37. After a steal by Coleman-Lands on the next possession, he sent it across the court for a Sibande dunk. He was fouled and hit the free throw to make it 42-37 with 5:11 to go.
Miami's defense held strong the remainder of the half, allowing the Bulls only two more points. Another triple from Coleman-Lands, a layup from Sibande and a pair of free throws from redshirt junior forward Precious Ayah sent the 'Hawks into the break with a 49-39 advantage.
Sibande scored 23 points in the first half, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc. He was 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
The RedHawks came out cold to start the second half, and Buffalo responded with a 15-2 run to take a 54-51 lead at the 15:04 mark. Jumpers from Sibande and Ayah put Miami back in front, but the Bulls eventually took a six-point advantage at 68-62 with 9:53 to go.
Sophomore guard Mekhi Lairy recorded a pair of fast break layups to get the RedHawks back into the contest. Buffalo responded, but three-pointers from senior forward Bam Bowman and Coleman-Lands gave Miami a 74-73 lead with 5:15 to go. Redshirt junior Milos Jovic followed with a big triple, but the Bulls hit a jumper to tie the score at 77 at the 1:20 mark.
Jovic broke the tie with a layup after Coleman-Lands found him down low. A great defensive stand by the RedHawks resulted in an empty possession from Buffalo. Lairy put down a couple of free throws to make it a two-possession game and Miami did not look back as it secured its first trip to Cleveland since 2018.
Coleman-Lands finished with 13 points for Miami, while Grant scored nine and Lairy eight. Buffalo was led by Ronaldo Segu with 20 points.
