OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team shut down Northern Illinois 87-58 Tuesday night. Eian Elmer and Brant Byers each scored a game-high 22 points. Nasir Muhammad led the Huskies with 17 points. The RedHawks improve to 21-7 (12-3 MAC), while Northern Illinois falls to 5-23 (1-14 MAC).

How it Happened:

• Elmer put the RedHawks up 5-0 with a three and a layup at the start of the game. The Red and White didn't slow down, as a couple of layups from Suder and a Byers triple gave Miami a 14-0 lead. The Huskies answered by scoring their first bucket of the night at 14-2 with 13:36 remaining in the first half. A deep shot from Luke Skaljac on an acrobatic pass from Evan Ipsaro pushed the RedHawk advantage to 19-4.
• A flurry of layups and an emphatic dunk from Byers stretched Miami's advantage to 30-13 with the intermission approaching. Northern Illinois scored the next six points to trail 30-19. The Red and White responded with a 10-0 run to claim over a 20-point lead at 40-19. Miami entered the half ahead 46-28.
• Coming out of the break, Mekhi Cooper and Elmer combined for 12 points to increase the scoring gap to 60-33. Byers' third three of the night and a Dan Luers layup gave the RedHawks their first 30-point lead of the evening at 65-35. Potter added an alley-oop dunk and a layup to keep Miami in control 71-38 with just over 10 minutes left on the scoreboard.
• Skaljac scored a three, and Elmer buried his fourth and fifth triples of the game, making it an 80-47 ball game with under six minutes to play. The RedHawks went on to take down the Huskies 87-58.

 
Game Notes:

• The RedHawks dished out 25 assists (tied for third-most this season).
• Cooper totaled six steals (tied for seventh all-time in Miami single-game history).
• Miami shot over 50% from the field for the 12th time this season.
• The RedHawks recorded 49 bench points.
• The Red and White have secured the program's most MAC wins since 2005-06.
• Miami set a new record for the most consecutive home wins (14) in a single season.
• The RedHawks outrebounded NIU 44 to 24.

 
Up Next:
The RedHawks face off with the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday, March 1 at 1 p.m. in Athens.