March 12, 2003

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THE GAME For the second time in eight days, two of the Mid-American Conference's fiercest rivals will clash as Miami (13-14; 11-7 MAC) and Ohio (13-15; 8-10 MAC) battle in the quarterfinals of the 2003 FirstEnergy MAC Tournament at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 13 in Cleveland's Gund Arena.

The RedHawks earned their first first-round bye since the tournament expanded to all 13 teams in 1999-2000 as the No. 3 seed and face the 11th-seeded Bobcats, who pulled out a thrilling 79-77 win at No. 6 Akron on a last-second basket by Brandon Hunter. Miami and Ohio have faced each other just three times in MAC Tournament history with Ohio owning a 2-1 edge, but have never faced each other in the quarterfinal round.

After winning nine of 11 games, Miami dropped its final three contests of the regular season and is looking to rebound from a trio of subpar shooting efforts. Junior guard Chet Mason (Cleveland, Ohio/South) collected his first double-double of the season, tallying 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds at Marshall last Saturday. Mason leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.1 rpg and chips in 10.1 ppg. Junior guard Juby Johnson (Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) tosses in a team-best 14.9 ppg, while sophomore forward Danny Horace (Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Hills) adds 11.6 ppg and 6.0 rpg.

Hunter leads the nation in rebounding, averaging 12.8 ppg and also is one of the nation's top scorers at 21.5 ppg. Steve Esterkamp follows, averaging 14.9 ppg and is coming off a 25-point performance at Akron in Monday's first round game.

THE SERIES VERSUS THE BOBCATS The series with Ohio dates back to the 1908 season with Ohio owning an 86-80 edge. However, the two teams have only met in the MAC Tournament on three occasions with Ohio holding a slight 2-1 edge. The RedHawks and Ohio have never faced each other in the quarterfinal round. In its last postseason meeting, Miami pulled out a 62-61 win over Ohio in the 2001 MAC Tournament Semifinal. The RedHawks were the No. 8 seed in the 2001 MAC Tournament, while Ohio was the No. 5 seed. When playing at a neutral site, Ohio owns a 3-2 advantage over Miami. This season, the two teams split the two-game series with each winning on the other's homecourt. In the most recent meeting (March 5), Ohio snagged a 64-56 win in Oxford in Miami's home finale. Earlier, Miami captured a 77-65 win in Athens, which ignited a five-game win streak for the RedHawks. (For complete series information, please refer to pages 54 and 55 of the media guide.)

JOHNSON AND HAUSFELD GARNER POSTSEASON HONORS Junior guard Juby Johnson and freshman guard Josh Hausfeld (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) earned Mid-American Conference postseason honors. Johnson was a second-team All-MAC selection, while Hausfeld was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team. Johnson becomes the first Miami player to earn second-team honors since Alex Shorts in 2001. Doug Davis was an honorable mention all-MAC pick last season. Hausfeld is the third-straight all-freshman honoree for Miami, following Danny Horace and Johnson. (Please see page 100 of the media guide for Miami's complete all-conference listings.)

MASON EIGHTH ON SINGLE-SEASON STEAL LIST With his three steals at Marshall on March 8, junior guard Chet Mason catapulted himself onto Miami's single-season steal list. Mason ranks eighth with 50 steals and needs just one more steal to move into a tie for sixth on the list. Three more steals will place Mason in a tie for fifth. The single-season thieving standard is 101, set by Ron Harper in 1986. (Please see page 113 of the media guide for a complete list.)

JOHNSON NEARING SEVERAL MILESTONES With three more starts, junior guard Juby Johnson will crack Miami's career top-10 list for starts. Johnson has 85 career starts entering the MAC Tournament. He is three three-point field goals away from placing his name on Miami's single-season list and ranks seventh for single-season three-point field goal attempts with 150. Johnson also is within two treys of breaking onto Miami's career three-point field goal list and is three three-point attempts away from the career top-10 list. With 942 career points, Johnson needs just 58 more to become the 28th player in school history to amass 1,000 career points. (See pages 110 and 112 for complete lists).

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. Miami currently ranks third nationally in scoring defense according to ESPN.com, giving up just 58.4 ppg on the season. Air Force leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 57.6 ppg.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME ... With its 63-35 win at Buffalo on Feb. 22, Miami held an opponent to 35 points for the first time since Dec. 7, 1948, when it downed Defiance, 75-32. It also marked the third time this season the RedHawks have held an opponent to less than 40 points and the fourth time they have held the opposition to fewer than 50 points. The last time Miami held opponents to under 40 points three times in the same season was during the 1946-47 campaign.

JOHNSON CASHING IN THE 20'S As of late, junior guard Juby Johnson has been going to the bank and cashing in the 20's ... 20-point games, that is. Over a five-game stretch, Johnson scored 20-plus points in four contests (26 at Eastern Michigan; 21 vs. Buffalo; 21 at Kent State; 21 vs. Marshall). During the stretch he hit 51.4 percent of his field goals, 44.7 percent of his three-point shots and 83.3 percent of his free throws to average 20.8 points per game.

JOHNSON'S 20/20/20 VISION For the first time since 2000-01, a Miami player 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.

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.

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 505-293 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 452-357 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.

ANY GIVEN DAY One of the unique things about Miami's team is that on any given day a variety of players can step to the forefront and make key contributions, which is evident by its three different player of the week honorees and additional scholar-athlete of the week. Chet Mason, Danny Horace and Juby Johnson have each been decorated as MAC East Division Player of the Week, while Tim Schenke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) was tabbed MAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week.

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 10 of their last 11 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 breakaway 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."

HAUSFELD MAKING KEY CONTRIBUTIONS Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) landed himself a spot in the starting lineup in Miami's first game of 2003 and has been making key contributions in many areas to help lift the RedHawks to their 11-7 MAC mark. Hausfeld has hit critical three's to spark Miami runs and produced a 41.8 percent three-point shooting percentage in MAC play. He averaged a solid 8.2 ppg in league play and also amassed 39 assists in MAC action, while committing just 19 turnovers for a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio.

MARSHALL 58, MIAMI 51 Chet Mason produced his first double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and pulling down 11 rebounds for Miami, but Marshall drained 10 more free throws off 17 additional free-throw attempts than the RedHawks to lift the Thundering Herd to a 58-51 win over Miami.

The two teams went back and forth through much of the early stages of the first half. Marshall was able to pull out to a three-point edge at the 7:53 mark, 11-8. Miami then went on a 12-5 run to post a four-point lead at the 3:30 mark, 20-16. Senior Doug Williams drilled a three-pointer with 4:33 left in the first half to give Miami its first lead since the 12:30 mark, 17-14, and a three-point play by Mason increased the lead to 20-16. Minutes later, a fastbreak dunk by Mason handed Miami its largest lead of the game, 24-19, with 1:32 left in the half. However, a pair of Miami fouls over the final 1:16 of the first stanza sent Marshall's Ronald Blackshear and A.W. Hamilton to the line, and both connected on their free-throw attempts to cut the RedHawk lead to one at the half, 24-23.

Again the two teams went back and forth in the opening minutes of the second half. With the score tied, 32-32, with 16:43 left to play, Miami went on a 5-0 run over the next minute off a layups by Danny Horace and Mason and an ensuing free-throw toss by Mason to take a quick 37-32 lead. Marshall was able to tie things up again at the 8:43 mark, 40-40, off a two-point bucket by David Anderson, but Miami was able to preserve its lead for the next four minutes. Hamilton drained both of his free throws with 4:42 left to play to give the Thundering Herd the lead for good, 46-45. Marshall led by four, 53-49, with 1:51 left, and Miami was able to connect on just one field goal, while the Herd hit 5-of-6 free throws to make the final score, 58-51.

Juby Johnson led all scorers with 17 points, while Mason added three steals and three assists to his 16-point, 11-rebound double-double for the RedHawks.

'HAWKS CAN DISH IT OUT In its two games prior to the Feb. 20 Akron game, Miami amassed 17 assists in each contest, its highest number of assists this season. In the Feb. 15 win over Marshall, the RedHawks also produced their best assist/turnover ratio the season 17/7 (2.42). Chet Mason dished out a game-high six assists against Marshall, while Gene Seals handed out a game-best and career-high eight assists on Feb. 9 at Ball State. Seals' eight assists are the most by any RedHawk this season. In its Feb. 20 Akron game and its Feb. 22 Buffalo contest, Miami handed out 14 and 16 assists, respectively, and had positive assist/turnover ratios for the eighth and ninth times in its last 14 contests.

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. 63 in the Sagarin Index and 81st by CollegeRPI.com. Miami is 114th according to Sagarin and ranks 133rd with CollegeRPI.com as of March 10.

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 327-107 (.753) on their home court. Nine of Miami's 13 wins this season have been in the confines of Millett Hall. Last season, the RedHawks won just two 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 14.8 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game and shoots 47.1 percent from the field. Contrastingly, he scores just 8.8 ppg, shoots 31.6 percent from the field and notches 5.4 boards per game in Miami's losses. In the 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.

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 STREAK Over Miami's five-game win streak, five players were 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 also averaged 7.4 and 7.0 rebounds per game, respectively.

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 ranks fifth on the list, averaging 6.1 boards per game. Boston College's Ryan Sidney tops the list, averaging 7.0 rpg.

MASON STEALS SHOW Junior guard Chet Mason grabbed a game-best and season-high six steals against Ohio on Jan. 18, all of which came in the second half, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game list. The six steals are 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' 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 in MAC play, amassing 47 in the second half against Ohio on Jan. 18. 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 on Jan. 20, one of two 50.0 shooting performances this season. The RedHawks also dished out 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 marked 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 Marshall's Ronald Blackshear, Ball State's Chris Williams, Evansville's Clint Cuffle, Central Michigan's Mike Manciel, Ohio's Steve Esterkamp and Akron's Derrick Tarver. In the Feb. 15 game against Marshall, Thundering Herd gun Ronald Blackshear was averaging 25.1 ppg in league action ... he was limited to a team-best 13 points against the RedHawks. Heading into its Jan. 25 game, 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 heading into the Jan. 20 contest and scored 20, eight of which came in the waning minutes of the contest.

JOHNSON-MIAMI'S MINUTE MAN AND MORE In eight of Miami's last 18 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 16.2 point-per-game clip to lead the RedHawks over the past 18 games, including a career-high-tying 26 points at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 29. This season, Johnson has scored in double figures in 21 games, including 16 of Miami's last 19 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 17 games.

MAC NUGGETS Three RedHawks are ranked among MAC statistical leaders. Juby Johnson ranks 10th in made three-point field goals (1.93), 14th in free-throw percentage (.770) and 15th in scoring (14.9). Chet Mason ranks sixth in steals (1.85), ninth in defensive rebounding (4.59) and 10th in rebounding (6.1). Danny Horace is 10th in defensive rebounds (4.28) and 11th in rebounding (6.0).

MAC NUGGETS PART II In conference only games, four players rank among MAC statistical leaders. Josh Hausfeld is 13th in made three pointers (1.83). Chet Mason ranks third in steals (2.44), ninth in defensive rebounds (4.78) and 10th in rebounding (6.3). Juby Johnson is sixth in made three-point field goals (2.11), 13th in free-throw percentage (.776) and 13th in scoring (15.7), while Danny Horace ranks eighth in defensive rebounds (5.06), ninth in rebounding (6.8) and 15th in free-throw percentage (.775).

BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIER With a 77-65 win at Ohio on Jan. 18, Miami broke down the road barrier that has hindered it 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 four of their last seven road contest, collecting wins at Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Akron and Buffalo. 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 Northern Illinois on Feb. 25, scoring a season-high nine points, grabbing three rebounds in 14 minutes of action.

'HAWKS 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.

JOHNSON NAMED MAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK Juby Johnson was named Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week after helping Miami to its most lopsided win this season against a Division I opponent and securing its second-place East Division standing, the conference office announced Feb. 17.

Johnson poured in a game-high 21 points en route to a 69-49 win over Marshall in Miami's lone contest of the week, which snapped a two-game skid for the RedHawks and moved them to within one game of East Division leader Kent State. This is Johnson's fourth 20-plus point game in five games and his third of the season. In addition to accounting for nearly 30 percent of Miami's points, he also pulled down six rebounds, including a season-high three offensive boards, and snagged two steals. This is the first player of the week honor for Johnson.

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 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 nine points, going 3-for-4 from three-point range-and junior forward Gene Seals, who added seven points.

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 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 14th MAC Tournament semifinal appearance. * Snap a three-game losing streak.

A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ... * Be its fourth straight loss. * Be the second straight year it has bowed out of the MAC Tournament in the semifinal round.