MIAMI BASKETBALL

Byers nets 26 as RedHawks edge Zips 

Brant Byers reacts to a foul. The redshirt sophomore hit 11 of 12 free throws while scoring 26 points. (MVSmith/MRO)

By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH  -- There was no championship title at stake this time, but the effort by both teams was close to tournament level Saturday as defending MAC champ Akron battled 2025 runner-up Miami at Millett Hall. Akron led much of the contest, but MU stayed close and pulled ahead late to post a 76-73 win.

"We had a terrific crowd today," Miami head coach Travis Steele noted early in his post-game comments.  "During this time of the year, we have no students here. . . . They got to see two really great teams. Akron has been the gold standard in our league the last few years. They've been tremendous. They're experienced. they're well-coached. They have incredible guard play (and) good bigs. They've got a tremendous team. "

He added, "We knew we were going to have to play well. I told our guys, we didn't have to be perfect, but our effort had to be perfect. Our connectivity had to be perfect, and I thought that was the case today."

The victory allowed Miami (15-0, 3-0 MAC) to remain undefeated on the season. Akron fell to 10-4, 1-1 MAC). Sophomore forward Brant Byers led MU with 26 points -- one off his season high. Junior Eian Elmer tallied 19 points, followed by Luke Skaljac (11) and Antwone Woolfolk (11). Peter Suder was one off double figures with nine points (and nine assists). Ironically, the Miami bench - which is frequently a big contributor -- did not score a point against Akron. 

Tavari Johnson, the MAC's leading . . . 

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Luke Skaljac scored 11 points and was one of four RedHawks in double figures. (MVSmith/MRO)

. . . scorer (20.5 ppg), led UA with 22 points. Joining him in double figures were Amani Lyles (16), Shammah Scott (15) and Eric Mahaffey (10 points, 13 rebounds). 

Akron grabbed just one more rebound (37-36) and both teams had 15 turnovers. However, a late inbounding turnover by Akron proved particularly costly. Miami was up 72-70 when Suder was whistled for an offensive foul with 21 seconds left. UA's opportunity, however, disappeared in one step. That step was by a Zips player who crossed the endline with the ball while inbounding it. 

Miami took over, adding four more free throws in the next 16 seconds. Scott's buzzer-beating 3-pointer resulted in a final score of 76-73. 

Free throws were a factor as Miami made 25 of 30 (83%) charity tosses on the day. Akron hit 9 of 10 (90%).

"It was a very physical game -- both ways,"  Steele said. "It was a very physical game -- both ways.

"Their game plan, you could tell, was to try to pressure us -- especially being down Evan -- to try to take us out of our offense. But I thought our guys really responded well. (They) got to the free throw line a lot .. and connected ...like we usually do."

He continued, "I like winning this way. For us, its a great sign. Listen, we didn't play pretty. It was an ugly game at times for us. . . . To win the conference tournament in Cleveland, you look at the teams that have had the ability to win (there). . . you have to win a game like this -- where it is just physical (and) nasty. You got to be tough, and we showed that today."

Akron, which out-scored MU 38-18 in the paint, finished with eight more made field goals (28-20). However, MU hit three more treys and had a decisive free throw edge.

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Peter Suder recorded a game-high nine assists to go along with nine points. (MVSmith/MRO)

FIRST HALF
Miami led early, but Akron moved in front 12-11 on a layup by Mahaffey at 14:33. The Zips then built up a seven-point advantage on two occasions before taking a 36-33 lead to intermission. Miami shot just 30 percent (9 of 30) from the field overall and 25 percent (5 of 20) on threes. Akron, meanwhile, connected on just 2 of 13 (15.4%) from long distance but made 14 of 31 (45.2%) overall thanks to its success inside. The Zips owned a 24-8 edge on points in the paint for the first 20 minutes. 

SECOND HALF
There were 13 lead changes and five ties in the second half. Miami finally moved in front (68-67) for good when Skaljack knocked down a triple at 2:33. Suder followed with MU's last field goal at 1:49 and the RedHawks sank seven of eight free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.

Antwone Woolfolk drives against Shammah Scott as Tavari Johnson tries to help. Woolfolk finished with 11 points, f5 rebounds3 steals and 2 blocks. (MVSmith/MRO).

NOTES:
•   Miami hosts Western Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. inside Millett Hall.
•  Eleven of Byers' 26 points came at the line. Steele noted that while Byers has always thrived as a shooter, "He's really developed his game off the bounce -- (adding to) his ability to finish (and) draw fouls. . . .  He is such a weapon."
•   With Saturday's win, the Red and White extended its home win streak to 23 games, tying the record of 23 straight home wins that was set from 1996-1998.
•   Miami, which leads the MAC in field goal percentage (53.6%) through 15 games, shot just 37.7 percent against Akron. 
•   Akron's bench out-scored Miami's bench 27-0. 
•   Elmer (19 points) had a productive and efficient game. His 5 of 10 from the floor included 4 of 9 on threes and 5 of 6 at the line.  His eight rebounds was a team high. Both he and Suder played at least 37 minutes