OXFORD, Ohio— Precious Ayah scored 12 of his career-high 18 points in the first half to lead Miami to an 80-65 victory over Stetson Tuesday. Miami (3-0) scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed. Dae Dae Grant poured in 16 of his 18 points after halftime for the RedHawks, while Dalonte Brown added 16 points and Myja White chipped in 11. Josh Smith had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead Stetson (1-2).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Hatters misfired on their first seven three-pointers as Miami jumped out to an early 15-6 lead.
• The visitors responded with back-to-back triples to keep things close, draining five of six attempts behind the arc in one stretch.
• Miami used a 10-0 run to stretch the margin to 13 points at 25-12.
• The home team settled for a 38-26 advantage at intermission, holding Stetson to 34.6% shooting from the floor in the opening half.
• Dae Dae Grant's length-of-the-floor pass to Dalonte Brown gave Miami its largest lead at 47-32 with 17:52 to play.
• Grant hit field goals on three consecutive offensive possessions out of the under-12 media timeout to push Miami's lead from 57-49 to 64-51.
• Stetson cut the lead to 10 briefly, but Luka Eller's free throws with 8:31 to play put Miami back up 69-55.
• The Hatters battled back as close as 71-63 with 3:00 to play but could get no closer.

 
NOTES

• The Red and White out-rebounded Stetson 36-28, with Ayah and Brown each snaring eight boards.
• Three different RedHawks racked up four or more assists, led by Mekhi Lairy and Dae Dae Grant with five each. Miami had 17 assists on 27 made field goals.
• Dalonte Brown moved into 18th on MU's all-time scoring list with 1,270 career points, passing Craig Michaels (1,256 points from 1990-1993).
• Miami shot 45.8% from the field (27-59), 37.5% behind the arc (9-24), and a scorching 94.4% from the line (17-18).
• Miami's five turnovers was the lowest amount for the RedHawks since Dec. 11, 2020 (four vs. Mt. St. Joseph)
• The RedHawks improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

 
UP NEXT:
Miami continues its four-game homestand Saturday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. when Heidelberg visits Millett Hall.