RedHawks Edge Past Mercyhurst Thursday Night, 76-61

Thursday, November 20

Oxford, Ohio

7 p.m.

Miami University

4-0,0-0MAC

Mercyhurst

3-3,0-0NEC

Mercyhurst

Miami (OH)

Photo by: Will Miklautsch

RedHawks Edge Past Mercyhurst Thursday Night, 76-61

11/20/2025 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

OXFORD, Ohio– The Miami University men's basketball team edged past Mercyhurst 76-71 Thursday night at Millett Hall. Almar Atlason led the RedHawks (4-0) with 16 points, while four other RedHawks added double figures in scoring. Bernie Blunt and Jake Lemelman led the Lakers offense with 15 points each.

How it Happened:

A baseline drive from Eian Elmer that led to a bank shot and a corner three from Luke Skaljac gave Miami an early 5-0 advantage. Back-to-back triples from Brant Byers and an Atlason three kept Miami in control at 16-11 with 13:32 on the game clock. An Antwone Woolfolk layup and a pair of free throws from Evan Ipsaro extended the RedHawks' lead to 21-13.
The Lakers fought back to make it a four-point game at 23-19, when a pair of traditional three-point plays from Atlason pushed the RedHawks ahead by double digits at 31-19. A combination of free throws from Byers and Ipsaro, as well as a Tyler Robbins layup, sent Miami into halftime with a 37-29 lead.
A two-hand slam from Woolfolk put the RedHawks back on top by double figures at 39-29 at the beginning of the second half. Mercyhurst responded by cutting the deficit to just four points at 42-38, but a pair of layups from Trey Perry and Atlason kept the RedHawks on top 47-38 with just under 16 minutes of action left. The Lakers didn't go away, shrinking Miami's lead to just one point at 47-46. Ipsaro knocked down his fifth and sixth free throws of the game, and Skaljac added a three from the left wing to fend off the Lakers' push at 52-48.
Byers sank his third three of the game, and Ipsaro found Elmer for a layup at 60-56, but Mercyhurst answered by evening the score at 60 apiece with 7:13 to play. The Lakers took their first lead of the game at 63-62. Trailing 65-64 with under four minutes to go, Skaljac flew down the floor for a tough layup through contact to help Miami regain the lead at 66-65. Mercyhurst reclaimed the lead at 71-70 with 1:33 remaining, but Skaljac, Ipsaro and Byers combined to shoot 6-6 from the free-throw line in the final stretch to edge past the Lakers 76-71.