Feb. 13, 2003

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THE GAME
Miami (9-11; 7-4 Mid-American Conference) returns home to host Marshall (11-10; 7-6 MAC) at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15. The game will be televised locally on Cincinnati's WB 64 with Tim Bray and Joe Barry calling the game. It also will be televised in Huntington and Charleston on the Thundering Herd Sports Network (WSAZ-TV) with Keith Morehouse and Mack McCarthy commentating.

The RedHawks are coming off a 78-70 loss at Ball State on Sunday and are trying to end a two-game losing skid. Sophomore guard Danny Horace (Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Hills) paced the Red and White with 22 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Horace ranks second on the team, averaging 11.7 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. Junior guard Juby Johnson (Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) leads the RedHawks, averaging 15.3 ppg. Junior guard Chet Mason (Cleveland, Ohio/South) leads the team with 6.4 rpg and also notches 9.6 ppg.

Marshall, which is coming off a pair of wins over Bowling Green (56-54) and Akron (74-58) has three players averaging double figures, led by Ronald Blackshear's 22.0 ppg. Marvin Black adds 12.1 ppg and a team-best 8.4 rpg, while Monty Wright chips in 10.0 ppg. A.W. Hamilton leads the MAC, averaging 5.9 assists per game.

In league games, Miami is 5-1 when playing on its home floor with its only home loss at the hands of Kent State. Conversely, Marshall is 2-4 in conference road games, having dropped its last four road contests.

THE SERIES VERSUS THE THUNDERING HERD
The series with Marshall dates back to the 1933 season with Miami owning a 43-26 lead in the series. When playing in Oxford, Miami posts a 24-10 record against the Thundering Herd and has won the last two meetings in Oxford with Marshall. Last season, the two teams split the home-and-home series with each coming away with a win on its homecourt. Marshall won the last meeting, which was in Huntington, 82-74, while Miami captured the earlier meeting in Oxford, 80-65. The last home loss to The Herd for Miami was 87-78 in 2000. Miami has won eight of its last 11 meetings with Marshall, but has dropped three of its last six. (For complete series information, please refer to page 54 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 seven of their last eight 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 501-290 record in conference play and boast a league-best .633 winning percentage. The next closest school in the win column is Ohio University, which owns a 448-354 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 seven games, Hausfeld is averaging 11.0 points per game, 3.4 assists per game and boasts a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio. He led the league in assist/turnover ratio in MAC contests, but is currently averaging less than 3.0 assists per game so is not ranked in the assist/turnover cagatory.

SEALS DISHING IT OUT
Junior forward Gene Seals (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw) accounted for nearly 50.0 percent of Miami's 17 assists against Ball State. Seals dished out a career-high eight assists against the Cardinals. His eight assists are the most by any RedHawk this season.

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 19 steals (2.71 per game) and ranks fourth among Mid-American Conference leaders in steals in league only games, averaging 2.27 per outing, and 10th in overall games, averaging 1.55 apg.

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. 10 in the Sagarin Index and 32nd by CollegeRPI.com. Miami is 103rd according to CollegeRPI.com and is ranked 112th 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 9.0 ppg, shoots 33.3 percent from the field and notches 4.7 boards per game in Miami's losses. In all six games where Miami has reached 70 or more points, Horace averages 16.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg and hits 49.3 percent of his shots.

BALL STATE 78, MIAMI 70
Ball State's Chris Williams produced an impressive 39-point outing as the Cardinals topped Miami, 78-70. Sophomore forward Danny Horace led the RedHawks with a career-high 22 points, going 6-of-10 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.

Horace opened the game with a jumper at the 19:02 mark, but Ball State went on a 14-3 run over the next seven minutes and eventually opened up a 17-point lead with 3:10 left in the first half, 36-17. Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld knocked down a layup and a three pointer as Miami put together an 8-2 surge over the final minutes of the half to cut the Ball State lead to 11 points, 38-27.

A layup by senior forward Byran Reed and a three-point play from junior guard Juby Johnson closed the gap even further in the second half as the RedHawks pulled to within six points of the Cardinals, 38-32. BSU, however, went on a 14-2 run to jump out to its largest lead of the game-18 points-with 13:54 remaining, 52-34. Miami retaliated with a 19-4 surge to pull within three points, 56-53, with 9:20 left. Johnson chipped in 10 of his 15 points during the Miami spurt, which included back-to-back treys. Ball State was able to recapture a seven-point lead, 62-55, with 8:05 left, but Miami then manufactured a 7-0 surge to knot the game, 62-62, at the 7:04 mark. Hausfeld drilled a trey to tie the game for the RedHawks. A trio of field goals and solid free-throw shooting down the stretch lifted the Cardinals to the 78-70 win.

In addition to his career-high 22 points, Horace also posted a team-best nine rebounds. Hausfeld added 18 points, while junior forward Gene Seals handed out a career-best eight assists.

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.

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. Six times this season Miami has reached the 70-point plateau, collecting wins five times. Miami topped Dayton 78-63, Central Michigan 71-62, Ohio 77-65, Akron 74-59 and Eastern Michigan 77-58. Its only loss when reaching 70 points was at Ball State, 70-78.

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 10 games.

MAC NUGGETS
Three RedHawks are ranked among MAC statistical leaders. Juby Johnson ranks seventh in made three-point field goals (2.05), 15th in scoring (15.2) and 14th in free-throw percentage (.733). Chet Mason ranks ninth in defensive rebounds (5.00) and ninth in rebounds (6.4) and ranks 10th in steals (1.55). Danny Horace is 11th in defensive rebounds (4.15) and 12th in free-throw percentage (.759).

MAC NUGGETS PART II
In conference only games, five players rank among MAC statistical leaders. Josh Hausfeld is tied for ninth in made three pointers (2.00). Chet Mason ranks fourth in steals (2.27), seventh in defensive rebounds (5.64) and ninth in rebounding (7.0). Juby Johnson is fifth in made three-point field goals (2.50) and three-point field goal shooting percentage (.403), 10th in scoring (16.9) and 15th in field goal percentage (.463), while Danny Horace ranks eighth in defensive rebounds (5.18) and 10th in rebounding (6.7). Gene Seals ranks 13th in blocked shots (0.73). As a team, the RedHawks lead the league in scoring defense (60.3) and is second in field goal percentage defense (.423).

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 15th nationally according to ESPN.com, giving up just 60.6 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, 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 8-4. * Snap a two-game losing skid for the RedHawks. * Keep Miami in second place in the MAC East Division.

A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ...
* Hand Miami its third consecutive loss. * Give Marshall its first road win since Jan. 8 at Buffalo.