Miami Blasts Central Michigan 88-60

Saturday, February 24

Oxford, Ohio

3:30 p.m.

Miami University

Central Michigan

Photo by: Jeff Sabo Miami University

2/24/2024 5:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

OXFORD, Ohio— Bradley Dean scored a season-high 20 points and led five RedHawks in double figures as the Miami University men's basketball team defeated Central Michigan 88-60 Saturday afternoon in front of 6,732 fans at Millett Hall.

Reece Potter and Evan Ipsaro added 15 points apiece for the RedHawks (13-14, 7-7 MAC) while Anderson Mirambeaux scored 12 and Mekhi Cooper chipped in 10. The Chippewas, who had won eight of their last nine games, fell to 16-11 (10-4 MAC) on the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Cooper opened the contest with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired and Mirambeaux exploded down the left lane for a layup to take a 5-2 lead. Bryce Bultman and Potter knocked down a pair of shots from behind the arc on back-to-back possessions to give the RedHawks a 13-6 lead with 15:32 on the game clock. Ipsaro found Potter for his second three of the game at 18-7. On the next trip, Mirambeaux got fouled on a layup and went on to convert a three-point play to cap a 14-1 Miami run.
After a Potter dunk and a Dean steal and layup, the RedHawks' advantage grew to 31-15. Miami stretched the margin to 20 points on an Ipsaro triple at 38-18, and Dean followed with a three-pointer for the Red and White's largest lead of the half after a Mirambeaux behind-the-back pass led to a Bultman assist. Ipsaro's layup with 22 seconds to play in the half made the score 46-24 at the break.
After intermission, the RedHawks picked up where they left off, as three-pointers by Cooper and Bultman on consecutive possessions made it 52-24. CMU responded with a 10-point burst to cut into the lead before a Potter dunk stopped the run and restored Miami's 20-point margin with 13:28 left.
Dean buried a trio of three-pointers in a span of five minutes to stretch the lead to 72-45 and Cooper followed with a backdoor layup to give Miami its first 30-point advantage at 76-46 with 4:20 to play. CMU would get no closer than 25 points the rest of the way. Eli Yofan capped the scoring with a deep bank shot at the one-minute mark as the RedHawks closed out an 88-60 victory.

GAME NOTES:

The RedHawks scored 55 bench points, their second-highest total this season.
The Red and White drained a season-high 15 three-pointers and shot 57.7% behind the arc (15-of-27), with eight different RedHawks hitting at least one triple.
The 28-point margin was Miami's largest conference win of the year and CMU's largest conference loss of the year.
Miami avenged a 71-55 defeat last month in Mount Pleasant.
Jaquel Morris blocked three shots.
Hunter matched his season high with five assists.

WHAT'S NEXT:
Miami is on the road for the next two games, beginning with a trip to Bowling Green on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.