Behind Brant Byers’ 21 points and Peter Suder’s 20, the No. 23 RedHawks ran their record to 25-0 with a 90-74 win in the Battle of the Bricks, the Mid-American Conference’s first televised game on ESPN since 1998.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
The RedHawks (25-0, 12-0 MAC) made sure it looked the part, too — shooting 51.7% overall and 50% from 3-point range (9 of 18) while stretching an eight-point halftime lead into a comfortable second-half pullaway.
“We knew with the building this full, emotions were going to be pretty high,” Byers said. “We knew we were also the better team, and if we just did our jobs, we would pull away.”
Byers did much of his damage at the line, going 13 of 16 on free throws, as Miami consistently turned pressure into points. Eian Elmer scored 15 on 6-of-9 shooting, Luke Skaljac added 12, and Almar Atlason chipped in 11 off the bench as the RedHawks scored 47 points after halftime.
Miami coach Travis Steele credited a student-driven week that carried into game night, calling Millett Hall “one of the hardest places to play in college basketball,” and said the RedHawks’ defense is “heading in the right direction” as the season moves deeper into February.
“We wanted to set that tone right away,” Steele said. “In rivalry games, you can just throw those records right out the window.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Ohio (13-13, 7-6) got 22 points from Jackson Paveletzke, who added three assists, and 12 points from Javan Simmons. The Bobcats shot 46.7% but were held to 5 of 21 from beyond the arc.
Miami led 43-35 at the break, then opened the second half by living at the stripe and knocking down timely 3s to keep Ohio from making the game uncomfortable. The RedHawks won the rebounding battle 38-29 and also got key interior work from Antwone Woolfolk, who had five points and five rebounds in 21 minutes despite not practicing all week because of an injury, according to Steele.
Credit: David Jablonski
Ohio’s best stretch came late in the first half as Paveletzke and Ajay Sheldon knocked down 3s to stay within striking distance, but Miami’s shot-making and free-throw parade steadily widened the margin in the final 15 minutes.
“We were the aggressive aggressor tonight,” Byers said, pointing to Miami’s edge on the boards and what he called “different toughness plays.”
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