OXFORD, Ohio— Miami missed on two potential game-winning shot attempts in the final seconds and dropped a 59-58 heartbreaker to visiting Cincinnati Wednesday in front of a crowd of 7,285 at Millett Hall. The RedHawks (5-2) trailed by four points in the final minute, but had multiple chances on the final possession after the Bearcats (6-2) missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity with 11 seconds to play.
 
Mekhi Lairy had 20 points to lead Miami, while Dalonte Brown posted 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Dae Dae Grant added 12 points for the RedHawks.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Cincinnati jumped out to a 17-10 lead, MU battled back to go on top for the first time at 22-20 on a Lairy three-pointer.
• UC's Jeremiah Davenport hit a triple in the final seconds of the first half to give the visitors a 30-29 lead at intermission.
• Back-to-back three-pointers from Brown and Lairy put Miami on top 45-37 with 13 minutes remaining in the contest.
• The Bearcats responded with a game-changing 16-4 run to take a four-point lead on Viktor Lakhin's dunk with 3:57 left (53-49).
• Lairy scored Miami's final points with 49.3 seconds left, draining a shot from downtown to cut the lead to 59-58 and set the stage for a frantic finish.

           
NOTES

• Dalonte Brown started his 118^th career game for the RedHawks tonight, equaling Ron Harper's school record.
• Brown moved into 15^th place on Miami's career scoring list with 1,314 career points, passing Craig Tubbs (1980-1983, 1,307 points).
• Precious Ayah and Isaiah Coleman-Lands both played in the 100^th game of their RedHawks careers.
• This was the 147^th all-time meeting between Miami and Cincinnati and the first time the longtime rivals have played in 10 years.
• The Bearcats outrebounded Miami 48-36 and pulled down 22 offensive rebounds.
• The Red and White had a single-digit number of turnovers (nine) for the fifth time in seven games this season.
• Neither team scored from the free throw line in the first half, and Cincinnati (2-10 FT) didn't make a foul shot until there were less than three minutes remaining in the game.
• The attendance of 7,285 included 2,683 students and was the largest crowd in Millett Hall since 1999 (8,436 fans vs. Ball State for a MAC Tournament quarterfinal on Feb. 27, 1999).

 
 
UP NEXT:
The RedHawks travel to Indiana State Saturday, Dec. 4 for a non-conference game against the Sycamores. Tip time is set for 1 p.m. ET in Terre Haute, Ind.