Elmer's Career Night Lifts Miami Over UMass, 86-84

Tuesday, January 27

Oxford, Ohio

9 p.m.

Miami University

21-0,9-0MAC

UMass

13-9,4-6MAC

Massachusetts

Miami (OH)

Photo by: Megan Walker

Elmer's Career Night Lifts Miami Over UMass, 86-84

1/28/2026 1:12:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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OXFORD, Ohio– Eian Elmer set a new scoring career high last week against Kent State.

It didn't last long.

Elmer exploded for a career-best 30 points Tuesday night to help lift No. 24/25 Miami University to a thrilling 86-84 victory over Massachusetts in front of a crowd of 9,223.

Playing their first-ever game at Millett Hall as a nationally-ranked team, the RedHawks (21-0, 9-0 MAC) rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half to extend their record home winning streak to 27 games, and Elmer's hot shooting played a major part in the comeback win over the Minutemen (13-9, 4-6 MAC).

"We got some shots to fall, and thankfully Millett was packed out tonight, so that definitely helped the energy swing our way," Elmer said.

The junior wing matched his career high of five made three-pointers in the first half alone, and buried four consecutive shot attempts in a three-minute span of the opening half to keep the RedHawks within striking distance after the visitors had jumped out to a 22-13 lead.

For a Miami team playing without Luke Skaljac (illness), Elmer's aggressiveness on the offensive end was much-needed.

"He was tremendous," said head coach Travis Steele. "That's what it takes: When one guy goes down, 'next man up' mentality. That's what we do.

"I told Eian he was going to have to handle the ball more than he usually does…there was more on Eian's shoulders, and he's built for it…

"He's a tremendous shooter, rebounds the ball, defends, [and] able to get to the free throw line. I think he had an incredible game."

UMass took its first lead at 3-2 barely a minute into the contest, and Miami didn't go back on top until 8:40 remained in the game on —what else?— a long-range triple from Elmer (sandwiched between a pair of Almar Atlason threes). But for a battle-tested team that's had its share of close calls over the past two weeks (including back-to-back overtime victories), the RedHawks never flinched despite trailing the majority of the evening Tuesday.

"We know adversity's going to hit," Elmer said. "We just have to fire our way back in."

And as Miami inched ever closer, the Red and White got plenty of contributions from every one of the seven players that saw action. Elmer was filling it up…Brant Byers was dunking…Justin Kirby was hustling…Antwone Woolfolk was muscling…Peter Suder was distributing…Trey Perry was battling… Atlason was flamethrowing…

But perhaps most importantly, the thousands of students in attendance for a late-night, nationally-televised showdown were screaming from the opening whistle to the final buzzer…and to Steele and his group, that made all the difference.

"The Miami students love athletics," Steele said. "They love athletics…our guys have earned this, to have this crowd: We've won, we're ranked, and all that stuff, so I think that's created a good buzz and excitement. But we want to give the students a great experience.

"Coming to these types of games, these will be moments the students will remember for the rest of their lives, [and] our players will remember the rest of their lives. That's what life's all about: the experiences you get.

"To see the crowd that we had – the students were elite, they were loud. They propelled us, quite honestly. We were another man down tonight and I thought our students were the difference in the game."

Miami went on to take the lead for good with 4:19 to play on a three-point play from Woolfolk, sparking an 8-0 run that turned a 75-74 deficit into an 82-75 advantage. However, the visitors wouldn't go away, trimming the margin to a single point at 85-84 with 8.8 seconds remaining. After Suder split a pair of foul shots, UMass got off a potential game-winning shot from halfcourt at the buzzer, but it glanced harmlessly off the backboard, leaving the RedHawks alone with Arizona as the only two unbeaten teams in Division I men's college basketball.

"I could care less about the streak; [it's] more just about trajectory – can we be at our best in March? But I also understand how special this is for our university, for our men's basketball program, and our players," Steele said.

"It's all about our players. We've got great players. We've got great human beings in our program, and I'm excited for them to be able to get the exposure they deserve."

GLUE GUY: Elmer made 9-of-14 shots from the floor, including 6-11 from distance, and added seven rebounds. He has 55 points across his last two games and put up back-to-back outings of 20+ points for the first time in his career.

"He plays to win, man. You hear his voice, his leadership-- just from where he came two years ago, I thought we were going to have to redshirt him," Steele commented. "When he first got here his summer of his freshman year, I was like, 'Man, this dude's got a long, long, long ways to go.

"Give Khristian Smith a lot of credit; our assistant coach has done a great job with him. And Eian's put a ton of work in to have these moments, so I'm happy for him."

BOARD GAMES: Miami was out-rebounded in the first half by a 20-12 margin, but controlled the glass to the tune of 20-14 over the final 20 minutes. Kirby matched Elmer for a team-high seven rebounds, and the 6-4 rookie guard frequently out-jumped everyone else in the gym to come down with the basketball.

"I thought we made some hustle plays when they got up by 10. Kirby had a couple big-time plays. Just hustle. Just play hard," Steele pointed out. "He had a couple rebounds where he high-pointed those things.

"He's a freshman; he's up there above the rim just going and grabbing it."

LET'S GET PHYSICAL: The RedHawks went to the foul line 38 times Tuesday, converting 28 free throws and outscoring the Minutemen by 15 points at the charity stripe. It was the most free throws Miami had shot in a game in a year (40 vs. Eastern Michigan on Jan. 28, 2025).

"Their physicality – we tried to prepare our guys for it. It's like helmets and shoulder pads against Frank Martin's teams," Steele said.

"They deny and they pressure the entire game. They make every catch contested [and] hard: probably different than every other team in our league. So sometimes you've just got to play north and south. You've got to drive the ball, you've got to land on two [feet], you've got be strong, you've got to play through bumps.

"I thought our guys did a good job of that, using their aggressiveness against them."

DROPPING DIMES: Suder finished with nine assists, matching his highest total this season. "He's an incredible playmaker...the ultimate competitor [and] one of the best teammates I've been around," said Steele. "He does whatever the game tells him to do. There's going to be games where he has 37; there's going to be games where he has nine assists…he doesn't care…

"We finished with nine turnovers and we're down our two PGs [point guards]; he's a big reason for that, just his experience level. He's never flustered. He's a tremendous playmaker."

REDHAWK ROWDIES: The crowd of 9,223 was one of the 10 largest in Millett Hall history (a list that could change again later this week with a One Miami doubleheader on tap that's already sold out to the general public), and many of the students in attendance Tuesday arrived well in advance of tipoff despite --or maybe because of?-- the frigid temperatures outside.

"I always go out and watch warmups…and I was shocked when I went out there, I couldn't sit in my normal spot," Steele smiled. "Usually I sit in the end zone and the students were all there 90 minutes before the game. It was packed…

"The students were incredible. So appreciative of them attending tonight."

HOMESTAND, HARPER, AND HUSKIES:
Up next, the No. 24 RedHawks will host Northern Illinois Saturday, Jan. 31 in Oxford at approximately 3:30 p.m. (after the 1 p.m. women's basketball game vs. Ohio) as part of One Miami Day presented by E&H Ace Hardware. Program legend and five-time NBA champion Ron Harper will be on hand to receive an honorary degree from Miami University between games. Tickets are sold out, but a limited number of student tickets are still available for download.