Jan. 27, 2003

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THE GAME
Posting its 499th league win with a 58-56 win over Ball State on Saturday, Miami tries to become the first Mid-American Conference program to attain 500 league wins traveling to Eastern Michigan for a 7 p.m. tilt on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Trying to collect a win in Ypsilanti will be no small task for the RedHawks, who have won just one game away from Millett Hall while the Eagles have given up just one win on their home court-a one-point loss to Ball State last Tuesday, 91-90.

Miami has rattled off three consecutive wins for the first time since early February of last season. Sophomore forward Danny Horace (Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Hills) paced the RedHawks in Miami's wins over Akron and Ball State last week, scoring 21 and 18 points, respectively. Horace averages 11.3 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game for the RedHawks, while junior guard Juby Johnson (Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) averages a team-best 13.9 ppg. Again among the nation's top small rebounders, junior guard Chet Mason (Cleveland, Ohio/South) pulls down a team-best 6.2 rpg and tosses in 10.3 ppg.

The Eagles are coming off a decisive 84-68 win over Central Michigan on Saturday after back-to-back losses to Northern Illinois (88-79) and Ball State. Eastern Michigan started the season with solid 5-1 mark, but have since dropped six of their last nine contests. Ryan Prillman paces the Eagles, averaging 19.4 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Markus Austin adds 17.4 ppg, while Steve Pettyjohn chips in 11.3 ppg and a team-best 7.4 rpg.

THE SERIES VERSUS THE EAGLES
The series with Eastern Michigan dates back to the 1975 season with Miami owning a 37-19 lead in the series. When playing in Ypsilanti, Miami posts a 15-11 advantage. Miami is on a six-game win streak in the series with Eastern Michigan, having won its last three meetings in Ypsilanti. Miami's last loss to the Eagles was in the Mid-American Conference Tournament title game in 1998, 92-77, and its last loss on EMU's home court was earlier that year, 71-67. In last season's lone meeting, the RedHawks produced a 72-56 win in Oxford on Jan. 12. The win was the last in a four-game series of wins for the RedHawks, their longest string of wins since the 1999-00 season. (For complete series information, please refer to page 53 of the media guide.)

MIAMI ONE WIN AWAY FROM BEING THE FIRST TO 500
By inching out a 58-56 win over Ball State on Saturday, Miami is now just one win away from becoming the first Mid-American Conference school to attain 500 league wins. In their 56th year in the MAC, the RedHawks hold a 499-288 record in conference play and boast a league-best .634 winning percentage. The next closest school in the win column is Ohio University, which owns a 446-350 record over 57 years in the MAC. Miami also owns 20 regular-season MAC crowns, more than twice the number of titles than any other league school.

HORACE TABBED MAC EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second consecutive week, a Miami University men's basketball player has earned Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week accolades. Following a week where he led Miami to its first three-game win streak since Feb. 6-11 of last season, sophomore forward Danny Horace was tabbed player of the week, the conference office announced Monday.

Horace paced the RedHawks in wins over Akron (74-59) and Ball State (58-56). He poured in a career-high-tying 21 points against Akron to lead all scorers. He drilled 10-of-13 field goals, including 1-of-1 from three-point range, to shoot a sizzling 76.9 percent from the field, helping Miami to its best shooting efficiency of the season (.583). His seven boards against the Zips lifted Miami to a season-high for rebounds (35) and its greatest rebounding margin of the season (+16).

Against the Cardinals, Horace tallied a game-best 18 points and pulled down a team-best nine boards as Miami battled to outrebound BSU, 34-32. Over the final minute of the contest with Ball State trailing by just two points, Horace pulled down two crucial rebounds, including a defensive board with 35 seconds, which led to a three-point play by Horace off a dunk and the ensuing free throw to give the RedHawks a five-point cushion. Miami pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, led by Horace's four, to tally a season-high, bettering the 14 offensive boards it collected at Maryland. The Ball State win marked the 11th straight triumph over the Cardinals in Miami's Millett Hall.

For the week, Horace averaged 19.5 points per game, and 8.0 rebounds per game to lead the RedHawks. He also shot 55.2 percent from the field (16-of-29). Horace has scored in double figures in Miami's last four games. This is the first career player of the week honor for Horace.

AGAIN MIAMI BOASTS ONE OF NATION'S TOP NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULES
Over the past two seasons, Miami's strength of schedule has been among the top 15 nationally at the conclusion of non-conference play, and this season is no exception. As has become the signature of Miami's non-conference slate, the RedHawks' strength at the end of their non-conference slate was among the nation's top five according to CollegeRPI.com and in the Sagarin Index (No. 4 in CollegeRPI.com and No. 5 in the Sagarin Index). Heading into its game against Cincinnati, Miami's strength of schedule was No. 1 in both indexes. Currently, the RedHawks' strength of schedule is ranked No. 4 in the Sagarin Index and 5th by CollegeRPI.com. Miami is 81st according to CollegeRPI.com and is ranked 107th by Sagarin.

HOME SWEET HOME
Over its 34 seasons as the home of Miami basketball, Millett Hall has certainly been a welcome venue for the RedHawks, who are 324-106 (.753) on their home court. Six of Miami's seven wins this season have been in the confines of Millett Hall. Last season, the RedHawks won just three games away from Millett Hall.

HAUSFELD HAS BREAKOUT GAME
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld has steadily been emerging in the RedHawk lineup, but Jan. 20 against Akron Hausfeld had a breakout game. Going 7-of-9 (.778 ) from the field, including 5-of-7 (.714) from three-point range, Hausfeld poured in a career-high 19 points, and his career-best six assists led to 13 additional RedHawk points. He also grabbed a career-best five rebounds while playing all 40 minutes of the game for the first time this season.

THE HORACE FACTOR
It is no secret that when Miami scores at least 70 points, it wins games. A key factor for that scoring surge is sophomore forward Danny Horace. In Miami's wins, Horace averages 15.1 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game and shoots 42.4 percent from the field. Contrastingly, he scores just 8.3 ppg, shoots 30.7 percent from the field and notches 4.1 boards per game in Miami's losses. In games where Miami has reached 70 or more points, Horace averages 15.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg and hits 46.8 percent of his shots.

SEALS STEPPING UP
Also emerging as of late has been junior forward Gene Seals (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw). In four of Miami's last seven games, Seals has scored in double figures, notching a season-high 13 at Ohio on Jan. 18. In Miami's wins, Seals connects on 61.1 percent of his field goal attempts to average 7.4 points per game.

FIVE MAKE BIG IMPACT OVER LAST THREE GAMES
Over Miami's past three games, five players have been key elements to Miami's wins, scoring the bulk of the RedHawks' points: Danny Horace (17.0), Chet Mason (12.3), Juby Johnson (14.7), Josh Hausfeld (11.7), Gene Seals (8.3). Seals was averaging double figures before being sidelined with an ankle injury just four minutes into Saturday's contest against Ball State. Making just his second start of the season, Seals was able to score two points and dish out an assist in just four short minutes of action. Horace and Mason are also averaging 8.0 and 7.0 rebounds per game, respectively. From the field, four of the five (Horace, Mason, Hausfeld and Seals) are all shooting 45.0 percent or better over the last three games led by Seals' 60.0 percent shooting effort.

AGAIN MASON ONE OF NATION'S TOP REBOUNDERS
Last season, Chet Mason ranked nationally among the top small rebounders (6-foot-3 and under), according to Stats, Inc., and this year he's picking up where he left off. Mason is currently tied for sixth on the list, averaging 6.2 boards per game. Boston Colleges Ryan Sidney tops the list, averaging 7.4 rpg.

MASON STEALS SHOW
Junior guard Chet Mason grabbed a game-best and season-high six steals against Ohio, all of which came in the second half, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game list. The six steals is the second-highest single-game sum in Miami history. Three people have recorded seven steals.

MIAMI 58, BALL STATE 56
A late seven-point surge in the second half catapulted Miami to a lead it would not relinquish as the RedHawks inched out a 58-56 win over Ball State. Sophomore forward Danny Horace scored a game-high 18 points, including a dunk and ensuing free throw with 13 seconds left in the game to give Miami a five-point cushion and eventually lift Miami to the two-point win. He also pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.

In the early stages of the first half, Ball State was able to claim an eight-point edge, 15-7, but Miami went on a 15-4 run capped by a Horace layup to give the RedHawks a 22-19 lead with 7:25 remaining in the half. The two teams went back and forth through the remainder of the first half, and eventually Ball State took a two-point lead off a jumper by Cameron Echols with 2:08 left. Junior guard Juby Johnson hit one of two free-throw attempts with 1:37 left in the half to leave the RedHawks trailing by just one, 29-28, heading into the half.

Through the first five minutes of the second half, the two teams traded buckets until Miami was able to rattle off seven unanswered points, sparked by a jumper and a three-pointer by Johnson, to post a 45-38 lead at the 13:11 mark. Three times Ball State was able to pull within two points, but was unable to overcome the RedHawk lead. With 1:15 left, Ball State closed the gap to two, 55-53, off a layup by Kevin Cates. The Horace dunk and free throw handed Miami a five-point edge with 13 seconds left, but Miami fouled Matt McCollom's three-point attempt and McCollom drained all three free throws to again shrink the Cardinal deficit to two, 58-56. Horace was promptly fouled, but missed the front end of the one-and-one and Ball State pulled down the rebound. Miami, with fouls to give before getting into a one-and-one situation, fouled the Cardinals and forced an out-of-bounds play with 1.4 seconds left. Ball State in-bounded the ball, but was unable to get the shot off in time and the RedHawks escaped with their 11th straight home win against BSU.

In addition to Horace, Johnson collected 14 points, while Chet Mason tallied eight rebounds.

MORE ON MASON
In the three games prior Miami's Toledo and Ohio tilts, junior guard Chet Mason scored a collective 18 points. In Miami's games against Toledo and Ohio, Mason led the RedHawks in scoring, tallying 17 and 22 points, respectively. Not only did Mason average 19.5 points per game, he hit 65.2 percent of his field goals (15-of-23) and 55.6 percent of his three-point attempts (5-of-9). Against Ohio, Mason was an impressive 80.0 percent from the field (8-of-10) and 75.0 percent from three-point range (3-of-4).

A LITTLE GIVE AND TAKE
Junior guard Chet Mason and sophomore forward Danny Horace combined for 10 of the RedHawks's season-high 12 steals against Ohio. Mason snagged a career-high six steals, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game chart, while Horace came up with four picks. The duo didn't just take, as they accounted for four of Miami's 12 assists. Mason handed out three assists and Horace had one.

TOP NUMBERS
Miami produced the most points in a half all season, amassing 47 in the second half against Ohio. The RedHawks also tallied a season-high 12 steals, while committing a season-low seven turnovers, equalled two weeks later against Ball State. Scoring 77 points, Miami also recorded its second-highest point total this season, falling just one shy of its 78 points against Dayton.

TOP NUMBERS PART II
Miami shot a season-high 58.3 percent from the field against Akron, its lone 50.0 shooting performance of the season. The RedHawks also dished out a season-best 16 assists, pulled down a season-best 35 rebounds and produced their greatest rebounding margin (+16) against the Zips.

A PUSH FOR 70
When the RedHawks hit 70 points, they win games. Four times this season Miami has reached the 70-point plateau, collecting wins in all four times. Miami topped Dayton 78-63, Central Michigan 71-62, Ohio 77-65 and Akron 74-59.

JOHNSON'S BAND-AID BRAND DEFENSE
As the Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid slogan goes, "I'm stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me," junior guard Juby Johnson's brand of defense stuck on Ball State's Chris Williams, Evansville's Clint Cuffle, Central Michigan's Mike Manciel, Ohio's Steve Esterkamp and Akron's Derrick Tarver. Most recently, Williams, who averaged 23.1 points per game to rank ninth nationally entering the contest with Miami, was held to a season-low eight points by Johnson. Cuffle, who averaged 20.3 points per game and is one of the nation's top three-point shooters, hitting more than 60 percent of his three-point attempts prior to the Dec. 30 contest, was held to a mere four points as he went just 1-for-9 from the field versus Johnson. Manciel averaged 14.5 ppg and was held to nine by Johnson, while Esterkamp averaged 12.2 ppg and scored just five on Johnson. Tarver averaged 31.5 ppg in league action and scored 20, eight of which came in the waning minutes of the contest.

JOHNSON-MIAMI'S MINUTE MAN AND MORE
In five of Miami's last seven games, junior guard Juby Johnson logged a full 40 minutes. Johnson has been a driving force in the RedHawk lineup, hitting critical baskets to place Miami in contention to win games or overcome deficits and playing superior defense while typically drawing the toughest defensive assignments. Johnson is scoring at a 16.0 point-per-game clip to lead the RedHawks over the past six games, collecting a season-high 23 points against Kent State on Jan. 8. This season, Johnson has scored in double figures in 12 games, including seven of Miami's last eight contests.

SCHENKE-MR. ASSIST
Until Miami's Jan. 8 game against Kent State, sophomore forward Tim Schenke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had not committed more than one turnover in a game, giving up just six for the season while producing 19 assists. Against the Golden Flashes, Schenke committed four turnovers, but also dished out four assists. He owns a team-best 2.1 assist/turnover ratio (23 assists/11 turnovers) and has only once committed more turnovers than assists. Just twice has he had an even number of assists/turnovers (1/1 at Xavier; 4/4 vs. Kent State). Four times this season Schenke has amassed four or more assists, including a career-high five assists against Cincinnati. Over his past four contests (he sat out the Evansville, Ohio, Akron and Ball State games due to a severely sprained ankle), Schenke notched 13 assists and committed seven turnovers.

HAUSFELD CRACKING THE STARTING LINEUP
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld earned the first start of his collegiate career against Butler on Dec. 14, but came off the bench in the Miami's next two games-Cincinnati and Evansville-to record 10 and eight points respectively. Hausfeld made his return to the starting lineup versus Central Michigan and has started the last six games.

MAC NUGGETS
Three RedHawks are ranked among MAC statistical leaders. Chet Mason ranks ninth in defensive rebounds (4.56) and 11th in rebounding (6.2), Danny Horace is 13th in free-throw percentage (.761) and defensive rebounds (3.81), and Juby Johnson ranks 13th in made three-point field goals (1.69).

STINGY DEFENSE
One of the hallmarks of Charlie Coles coached Miami basketball teams is a strong emphasis on defense. For the season, Miami has been among the nation's top teams in scoring defense and currently ranks 11th nationally according to ESPN.com, giving up just 59.4 ppg.

BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIER
With a 77-65 win at Ohio on Jan. 18, Miami broke down the road barrier that has hindered them since Feb. 6, 2002. Road games have been a true obstacle for the RedHawks, who won just two road contests last season and won their first in six tries this season at Ohio. Miami had lost eight straight road games. The Red and White also ended a three-game drought in The Convo with its previous win there on Feb. 18, 1998, 85-53.

THE 'SLUIS IS LOOSE!
Redshirt freshman Nate VanderSluis (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) made his much-anticipated debut in a RedHawk uniform on Dec. 14 when Miami hosted Butler. The 6-foot-11 center, who has battled foot injuries the past two seasons, played five minutes against the Bulldogs and scored four points and snagged two rebounds. He also saw limited action against Cincinnati on Dec. 28 and Kent State on Jan. 8, but made his presence felt against Akron on Jan. 20, scoring four points, grabbing three rebounds and playing 18 minutes.

REDHAWKS HOT AND COLD FROM THREE-POINT RANGE
Against Evansville, Miami drained its first five three-point attempts, and didn't miss a field goal until the 15:40 mark. Miami hit 41.2 percent of its first-half three pointers (7-of-17)-its best first-half effort of the season. Things cooled off for the RedHawks, who went 9-of-29 from three-point range for the game as they made just 2-of-12 attempts in the second half, a 16.7 percent effort. The RedHawks' 29 attempts were their most since the Red and White attempted 30 versus Buffalo in February of 2000 and ranked among the top eight for single-game attempts in Miami history.

MASON TABBED MAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior guard Chet Mason was tabbed Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week following games against Toledo and Ohio.

Mason led Miami against Toledo and Ohio, scoring 17 and 22 points, respectively, to average 19.5 points per game for the week. He came into the week producing just 18 combined points over Miami's previous three games, but got his shooting touch back last week. Mason's career-high 22 points against Ohio lifted Miami to a 77-65 win over the Bobcats, its first road win since Feb. 6, 2002, and first win in The Convo since 1998.

Mason was a sizzling 8-of-10 from the field (.800) and 3-of-4 from three-point range (.750), single-handedly putting together two second-half runs to cinch the game against the Bobcats.

He also grabbed a game-high and career-best six steals, all in the second half, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game chart. For the week, Mason hit 65.2 percent of his field goals 55.6 percent of his three-point attempts, averaged 7.0 rebounds per game and collected eight steals.

SCHENKE NAMED MAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Miami University's basketball programs swept the Mid-American Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards Dec. 10 as junior forward Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) and sophomore forward Tim Schenke were named the female and male scholar-athletes of the week.

Schenke, who owns a 3.37 GPA and majors in finance, helped Miami to back-to-back wins for the first time since early last February and got Miami to the .500 mark for the first time this season with wins over Dayton, 78-63, and a league-opening win over Western Michigan, 44-39. Schenke hit a critical three as time expired in the first half against Dayton to cut the Flyer lead to five and give the RedHawks momentum going into the second half. During a 17-0 second half run, Schenke hit another three to push Miami's lead to five. Miami's bench was a key component to the Dayton win, outscoring the Flyers 18-7. Schenke accounted for nine of those 18 points-a career-high sum.

For the second straight game, Schenke drilled a critical three against Western Michigan. All seven of his points came in the second half. Defensively, he helped hold Bronco forward Anthony Kann, who averaged 12.0 ppg heading into the contest, to just two points.

BENCH MARKS
A key to Miami's 78-63 win over Dayton was the production it received from its bench as the RedHawk bench outscored the Flyer bench 18-7. That margin was due in large part to sophomore Tim Schenke-who manufactured a career-high nine points, going 3-for-4 from three-point range-and junior forward Gene Seals, who added seven points.

THREE-POINT TURN AROUND
Over its first four games, Miami went a paltry 20-of-80 from three-point range, connecting on no more than six in a single game. Against Dayton, it seemed as if that might be the case in the first half as the RedHawks hit just 2-of-11 three-point attempts, including one by sophomore forward Tim Schenke just as the first half ended. The second half, however, was a much different story for the RedHawks, who drilled 8-of-10 three-point attempts for a sizzling .800 second-half three-point shooting percentage. Miami made its first five three-point attempts of the second half and didn't miss until the 13:29 mark.

DANNY "WRIGHT" ON THE BLOCK
When it comes to blocked shots, Danny Horace likes facing the Wright State Raiders. Last season as a freshman, Horace swatted five Raider shots, which tied Miami's No. 5 single-game total. On Nov. 30, Horace blocked three Raider shots for a grand total of eight over the past two years.

REBOUNDS FOR REED
Against Wright State, senior forward Bryan Reed (Terre Haute, Ind./North) snagged a career-high 11 rebounds and become just the second RedHawk this season to produce double figures in rebounding. His 11 rebounds against the Raiders also was a game-high sum, four more than any other player. For the week, Reed averaged a team-best 8.0 boards per game.

HAUSFELD STEPS UP AGAINST MARYLAND
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld stepped to the floor in front of a national audience against No. 12/15 Maryland and showed that he is more than capable of playing with the nation's finest. Hausfeld was one of just two RedHawks and one of only four players to score in double figures, amassing 11 points off 4-of-8 field goals. Hausfeld drilled three treys as he went 3-of-4 (.750) from beyond the three-point arc. He also produced two rebounds and one steal.

DANNY DOUBLE-DOUBLE
In just the second game of the season, sophomore forward Danny Horace notched his first double-double for the RedHawks. Horace led all players with 17 points and 12 rebounds against No. 12/15 Maryland on Sunday. His 12 boards was twice the sum of any other player. He also had three steals and one assist.

JOHNSON TABBED MAC PRESEASON ALL-EAST DIVISION
Junior guard Juby Johnson was one of 10 players named to the Mid-American Conference All-Divisional Teams as voted by the MAC News Media Association. Johnson joined Ohio's Brandon Hunter, Kent State's Antonio Gates, Marshall's Ronald Blackshear and Akron's Andy Hipsher on the MAC Preseason All-East Division Team. Ball State's Theron Smith, Central Michigan's Chris Kaman, Eastern Michigan's Ricky Cottrill, Toledo's Nick Moore and Western Michigan's Robby Collum comprised the Preseason All-West Division Team.

A MIAMI WIN WOULD ...
* Give Miami its 500th MAC win, becoming the first school in league history to achieve the feat.
* Give Miami four straight wins for first time this season and the first time since Jan. 5-16 of last season.

A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ...
* Snap a six-game win streak against the Eagles.
* Be Miami's loss at Eastern Michigan since 1998.
* Drop the RedHawks' MAC record to 5-3.