Feb. 7, 2003

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THE GAME
After a five-day layoff, Miami (9-10; 7-3 Mid-American Conference) returns to action at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9 when it travels to Ball State (9-11; 4-6 MAC). The game, originally scheduled for Feb. 8, was moved to Sunday for television and will be aired live on Fox Ohio and Pittsburgh and on a tape-delay basis on Fox Midwest and Detroit.

The RedHawks look to rebound from a heartbreaking 70-60 loss at Kent State in which they had a 19-point lead dissolved by the Golden Flashes. For the third consecutive game, junior guard Juby Johnson (Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) poured in more than 20 points, tallying 21 versus KSU, including 17 first-half points. Johnson became the first person since Alex Shorts in 2000-01 to string together three games with 20-plus points. He leads the team, averaging 15.3 points per game, and is knocking down a team-best 17.1 ppg in league action. Junior guard Chet Mason (Cleveland, Ohio/South) notches 9.9 ppg and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game, while sophomore Danny Horace (Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Hills) ranks second, notching 11.2 ppg and 5.5 rpg.

The Cardinals are coming off a dominant 82-68 decision over Ohio on Thursday night. Four players scored in double figures for BSU led by Chris Williams' 28 points. Williams is scoring at a 22.6 ppg clip, which ranks 12th nationally and leads the MAC. Cameron Echols averages 13.5 ppg and a team-best 9.5 rpg for the Cardinals, while Matt McCollom chips in 12.1 ppg.

THE SERIES VERSUS THE CARDINALS
The series with Ball State dates back to the 1935 season with Miami owning a 48-33 lead in the series. When playing in Muncie, Ball State posts a 20-17 advantage. Miami suffered a 74-58 loss at Ball State last season, but captured a 64-53 win on BSU's home court in 2001. With a close 58-56 win at home in January, Miami snapped a two-game skid in the series with Ball State and extended its home win streak against the Cardinals to 11 straight meetings. (For complete series information, please refer to page 51 of the media guide.)

MIAMI 500
500 was the number of choice for Miami the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. With a 73-58 win over Eastern Michigan on Jan. 29, Miami attained its 500th Mid-American Conference win. A 57-55 win over Buffalo on Feb. 1 upped Miami's overall record to .500 (9-9) for the first time since it was 3-3 with a win over Western Michigan on Dec. 7.

JOHNSON'S 20/20/20 VISION For the first time since 2000-01, a Miami player has put together three-straight 20-plus point games. Junior guard Juby Johnson poured in a career-high-tying 26 points at Eastern Michigan and turned around to toss in a game-best 21 points against Buffalo and a team-high 21 points at Kent State. Alex Shorts was the last player to accomplish the feat, with three consecutive 21-point games from Feb. 3-11, 2001.

WILLIAMS MAKES "PLAY OF THE GAME"
Senior guard/forward Doug Williams (Piketon, Ohio/Piketon) has been a quiet contributor as of late, giving the RedHawks quality minutes in each of their last seven games. While his career-high-tying eight points in Miami's win at Eastern Michigan got lost in the shuffle of other milestones that night, Williams made a bold statement in Miami's Feb. 1 game against Buffalo. With Miami surging back from a 15-point deficit, Williams single-handedly thwarted a break-away bucket that would have given Buffalo momentum, stripping the ball from Roderick Middleton, saving it from going out of bounds and shuttling it down the court to his teammates. Williams' steal led to a Josh Hausfeld three-pointer during a 22-5 Miami run. According to head coach Charlie Coles, "Doug Williams made the play of the game for us."

MIAMI IS FIRST TO 500!
With a 73-58 win at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 29, Miami became the first Mid-American Conference school to attain 500 league wins. In their 56th year in the MAC, the RedHawks hold a 501-289 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 447-352 record over 57 years in the MAC. Miami also owns 20 regular-season MAC crowns, more than twice the number of any other league school.

HOT HAND HAUSFELD
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld has had a hot hand as of late. During Miami's five-game win stretch, not only did Hausfeld light it up against Akron, notching a career-high 19 points off 7-of-9 shooting from the field, he dished out 22 assists and committed just four turnovers. Over the last six games, Hausfeld is averaging 9.8 points per game, 3.8 assists per game and boasts a 3.8 assist/turnover ratio. He leads the league in assist/turnover ratio in MAC contests (3.00) and ranks 15th in assists (3.00).

FRESH START
Through Miami's 10 Mid-American Conference games, freshman Josh Hausfeld ranks among statistical leaders in three categories. He is the only freshman to lead the league in a category, topping the assist/turnover ratio list (3.00), and is one of only two freshman to be ranked in three categories. Averaging 1.80 made three pointers, Hausfeld ranks 10th on the list and ranks 15th in assists (3.00).

PickPocket
In addition to his impressive rebounding efforts, junior guard Chet Mason also has been a pickpocket for the RedHawks, especially as of late. Over the past six games, Mason has come away with 17 steals (2.83 per game) and ranks third among Mid-American Conference leaders in steals in league only games, averaging 2.30 per outing, and 12th in overall games, averaging 1.53 apg.

First-Half Fire
In the first half of Miami's Jan. 29 game at Eastern Michigan, Miami shot a sizzling 71.4 percent from the field, hitting 20-of-28 field goals. It was the RedHawks' best single-half effort of the season. For the game, Miami shot 54.9 percent from the floor, just the second time this season it has shot 50.0 percent or better.

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. 6 in the Sagarin Index and 23rd by CollegeRPI.com. Miami is 82nd according to CollegeRPI.com and is ranked 104th 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 325-106 (.754) on their home court. Seven of Miami's nine wins this season have been in the confines of Millett Hall. Last season, the RedHawks won just three games away from Millett Hall.

DRAKE REJOINS ROSTER
Miami University senior guard Larry Drake (Groveport, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) was cleared to rejoin the men's basketball team starting with its game versus Eastern Michigan on Jan. 29 after completing a class that had held him out of action since the RedHawks' Jan. 8 game versus Kent State.

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 15.0 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game and shoots 45.7 percent from the field. Contrastingly, he scores just 7.7 ppg, shoots 30.0 percent from the field and notches 4.3 boards per game in Miami's losses. In games where Miami has reached 70 or more points, Horace averages 15.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg and hits 47.4 percent of his shots.

KENT STATE 70, MIAMI 60
Despite a 19-point first-half lead, a 24-point performance by Kent State's Antonio Gates and an 18-point outing from Eric Haut lifted the Golden Flashes to the 70-60 come-from-behind win over Miami.

Juby Johnson collected 17 of his team-high 21 points in the first half, leading Miami on two separate runs, going 5-of-7 from the field and hitting all three of his treys in the first half. After Kent State collected the first three points of the game, Miami went on a 16-3 run, spearheaded by eight points from Johnson and a pair of three pointers from Josh Hausfeld, to post a 16-6 lead at the 16:22 mark. Minutes later Hausfeld and Johnson teamed up for nine of Miami's points during an 11-0 run, which catapulted Miami to its largest lead of the game-19 points-30-11, with 9:10 remaining. However, Kent State outscored the RedHawks 10-3 over the final four minutes of the first half to shrink the Miami lead to 11, 40-29.

Johnson collected the first bucket of the second half, nailing a jumper just 14 seconds into the stanza. But KSU continued to chip away at the RedHawk lead, outscoring Miami 15-4 and cutting Miami's advantage to just two, 46-44, by the 13:03 mark. Miami was able to regain a seven-point edge, 53-46, at the 9:41 mark off a Chet Mason layup, but the RedHawks were only able to score seven points over the final portion of the second half to Kent State's 24. Haut drilled a three pointer with 7:19 remaining to hand KSU its first lead since the opening minute of the contest, 55-53. Tim Schenke answered for the RedHawks draining a three pointer to hand Miami the one-point edge, 56-55. A layup by KSU's Nate Gerwig at the 5:52 mark handed the Golden Flashes the lead for good, 59-57. Schenke hit another three pointer to pull the RedHawks within two, 62-60, with 2:43 remaining, but Miami was unable to score over the final minutes of the game.

In addition to Johnson's 21-point performance, Mason added 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds and four steals, while Hausfeld collected 10 points for the RedHawks.

Five make big impact over FIVE-GAME WIN STREAK Over Miami's five-game win streak, five players have been key elements to Miami's wins, scoring the bulk of the RedHawks' points: Juby Johnson (18.2), Danny Horace (16.0), Chet Mason (9.8), Josh Hausfeld (9.4), Gene Seals (5.8). Seals was averaging double figures before being sidelined with an ankle injury just four minutes into the Jan. 25 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 7.4 and 7.0 rebounds per game, respectively.

AGAIN MASON ONE OF NATION'S TOP SMALL 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 ranked fourth on the list, averaging 6.42 boards per game. Boston College's Ryan Sidney tops the list, averaging 7.16 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.

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.

TOP NUMBERS PART III
In a 73-58 win at Eastern Michigan, Miami shot a blistering 71.4 percent from the field in the first half, it's best single-half efficiency of the season, en route to its largest halftime lead, 45-17. It also was the most first-half points the RedHawks have scored this season.

A PUSH FOR 70
When the RedHawks hit 70 points, they win games. Five times this season Miami has reached the 70-point plateau, collecting wins all five times. Miami topped Dayton 78-63, Central Michigan 71-62, Ohio 77-65, Akron 74-59 and Eastern Michigan 77-58.

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 six of Miami's last nine 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 17.7 point-per-game clip to lead the RedHawks over the past nine games, including a career-high-tying 26 points at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 29. This season, Johnson has scored in double figures in 14 games, including nine of Miami's last 10 contests.

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 nine games.

MAC NUGGETS
Three RedHawks are ranked among MAC statistical leaders. Juby Johnson ranks seventh in made three-point field goals (2.05), 14th in scoring (15.3) and 15th in free-throw percentage (.724). Chet Mason ranks ninth in defensive rebounds (4.95) and 11th in rebounds (6.4) and ranks 12th in steals (1.53). Danny Horace is 11th in defensive rebounds (4.00) and 13th in free-throw percentage (.737).

MAC NUGGETS PART II
In conference only games, five players rank among MAC statistical leaders. Josh Hausfeld leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (3.00), is 10th in made three pointers (1.80) and ranks 15th in assists (3.00). Chet Mason ranks third in steals (2.30), sixth in defensive rebounds (5.60) and ninth in rebounding (7.1). Juby Johnson is fifth in made three-point field goals (2.50) and three-point field goal shooting percentage (.403), 12th in scoring (17.1) and 15th in field goal percentage (.463), while Danny Horace ranks ninth in defensive rebounds (5.00) and 11th in rebounding (6.5). Gene Seals ranks 11th in blocked shots (0.80). As a team, the RedHawks lead the league in scoring defense (58.5) and field goal percentage defense (.418).

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 as of Jan. 31 according to ESPN.com, giving up just 59.7 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 ust two road contests last season and won their first in six tries this season at Ohio. Miami had lost eight straight road games, however, they have won their last two road contests, collecting wins at Ohio and Eastern Michigan. 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.

HORACE TABBED MAC EAST 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. Sophomore forward Danny Horace was tabbed player of the week, the conference office announced on Jan 27.

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, drilling 10-of-13 field goals 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.

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 ...
* Increase Miami's MAC record to 8-3.
* Up Miami's overall record to .500 for the third time this season.

A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ...
* Hand Miami its second consecutive loss.
* Make Miami 2-7 in road games this season.