Jan. 23, 2010

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OXFORD, Ohio - Three RedHawks scored in double figures, including a double-double from sophomore forward Julian Mavunga, as the Miami University men's basketball team used another strong second half to down Bowling Green, 64-52, Saturday afternoon at Millett Hall. The victory was the fourth straight for Miami (6-12, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) over the Falcons (9-8, 2-3 MAC) and sixth straight in Oxford.

For the third straight home game, Miami erased a halftime deficit with a dominating second half, as the RedHawks scored 45 points over the final 20 minutes on 66.7 percent shooting, a single-half season best, after just 19 points in the opening stanza. Miami also went 18-for-24 at the charity stripe in the second period after making just one freebie in the opening 20 minutes. For the game, the ’Hawks outrebounded the Falcons 32-24, including 6-2 on the offensive glass, and also had seven blocks.

Senior guard Kenny Hayes tied for game-high honors with 17 points, while Mavunga totaled 11 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year. Junior forward Nick Winbush finished with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep, helping Miami finish 7-of-14 from behind the arc. Junior guard/forward Antonio Ballard added nine points, six caroms, three steals, three assists and two blocks. Dee Brown led the Falcons with a game-high-tying 17 points in the loss.

Mavunga opened the scoring with a trifecta as the shot clock was expiring, but the Falcons answered with a 15-6 run over a stretch of 8:44, capped by a pair of inside buckets from Otis Polk, to grab a 15-9 advantage. Miami answered with a jumper from junior guard Rodney Haddix II and a 3-pointer by Winbush to get within one at the eight-minute mark.

BGSU scored the next five points to again push the margin to six following the four-minute media timeout, before Winbush ripped off five points of his own via a turn-around layup and a deep trifecta to once more close the gap to one at 20-19 with 2:46 to play. Neither team would score the remainder of the period, as the Falcons took the one-point lead into the break.

Both teams struggled from the field in the opening 20 minutes, as Miami shot just 30.4 percent (7-of-23), but went 4-of-10 from distance, while Bowling Green hit at a 35.0 percent clip (7-of-20) and was 3-of-9 from behind the arc. The difference came at the stripe, where BGSU was 3-of-4 and the ’Hawks were just 1-of-4. Winbush led all scorers with eight points at break despite coming off the bench, while Mavunga pulled down six boards.

After the Falcons’ Erik Marschall opened the second half with a jumper, Miami went on a 7-0 spurt in just over a minute to take a 26-22 edge, with the first five points from freshman guard Allen Roberts. Marschall added three more points as part of a 7-2 Bowling Green burst over the next 1:31 to go on top 29-28 with under 15 minutes to play.

The teams traded buckets over the next four minutes until the RedHawks went on a key 13-0 run from the 11:02 mark to the 7:46 mark, with five points each from Ballard and Winbush, to turn a three-point deficit into a 46-36 Miami lead—one they would not relinquish. The Falcons would close within seven at 50-43 with 3:50 to play but would get no closer as the ’Hawks knocked down 11-of-14 free throws down the stretch before Ballard capped the victory with a reverse slam and a Hayes freebie made the final margin 64-52.

The RedHawks continue their four-game, eight-day stretch with a road contest at Ball State, as they being inter-divisional play Tuesday, Jan. 26 with tip-off set for 7 p.m. ET.

--MURedHawks.com--