March 13, 2003

Box Score

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND - Brandon Hunter scored 15 points, including two on a putback to force overtime, leading Ohio to a 65-55 upset win over Miami University in the Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinals.

Thomas Stephens led the No. 11 seed Bobcats (14-15) with 17 points and Hunter, the nation's leading rebounder, added 13 rebounds - none bigger than one in the final seconds of regulation.

Ohio will play No. 2 seed Kent State in Friday's first semifinal. The Golden Flashes advanced with a 79-57 rout of No. 11 Marshall in the quarterfinal opener.

In Thursday's evening session, top-seeded Central Michigan plays No. 9 Bowling Green and No. 4 Northern Illinois faces No. 5 Western Michigan.

Josh Hausfeld led No. 3 seed Miami (13-15) with 15 points and Juby Johnson had 12, but the RedHawks' leading scorer had to sit for a 9:30 stretch of the second half with foul trouble.

Stephens opened overtime with a 3-pointer and after scoring on a layup on a nice feed from Hunter, Jeff Halbert buried another 3 to give the Bobcats a 60-51 lead with 1:59 left.

Ohio outscored Miami 14-4 in overtime.

Juby Johnson finished with 12 points for the RedHawks in the MAC Quarterfinals on Thursday.

Halbert and Jaivon Harris added 13 points apiece for Ohio, which beat Akron on a buzzer-beater in the tournament's opening round.

Trailing by seven with 3:51 left, the Bobcats pulled within 51-49 and had the ball when Hunter was called for a charging foul with 41.8 seconds left.

But Miami turned the ball over, giving Ohio another chance and Hunter made sure his team took advantage by grabbing a missed 3-pointer near the foul line and powering inside for a layup to tie it 51-51 with 5.2 seconds to go.

Hunter then tipped Chet Mason's runner just before the horn to end regulation.