MIAMI BASKETBALL

MU fights off Falcons for eighth straight

Victory sets up Saturday battle of MAC-unbeatens

Brant Byers slams home two of his 12 points on the night. (MVSmith/MRO)

By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- Six RedHawks reached double figures and another scored nine points as Miami (14-4, 6-0 MAC) battled its way to an 84-76 victory over visiting Bowling Green (7-11, 2-4 MAC) Tuesday at Millett Hall. 
It was the eight straight win for MU, which remained undefeated in Mid-American Conference play. The RedHawks, who rose to No. 18 in this week's Mid-Major poll, will travel to Akron Saturday in a matchup of the only two remaining undefeated teams (in conference play. 

Point guard Mekhi Cooper led MU . . . 

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. . . against the Falcons, scoring 14 points, including a couple of key buckets in a game that recorded 11 lead changes and nine ties. Joining him in double figures were Kam Craft (13), Brant Byers (12), Peter Suder (11), Antwone Woolfolk (11) and Eian Elmer (10). 

Reece Potter nearly joined the group, chipping in nine points with five rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. Miami's bench outscored BGSU's subs 25-2 on the night. 

Trey Thomas and Derrick Butler shared team-high scoring honors with 17 apiece for the Falcons. Jamai Felt tallied 15, followed by Javontae Campbell (14) and Marcus Johnson (11) .

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Mekhi Cooper drives to the hoop. Cooper tied his season high with 14 points against Bowling Green. The sophomore point guard has reached double figures in six of the last seven games. (MVSmith/MRO)

Peter Suder's 11-point performance included a critical basket when BGSU challenged late in the contest. (MVSmith/MRO)

Bowling Green jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but MU battled back and the two teams each held small leads at various points of the first half. BGSU owned a 40-39 edge at intermission. 

A 7-2 run to start the second stanza put the visitors in front 47-41, but Miami fought back and went in front for good (56-54) on a triple by Potter at 12:31.

Miami's advantage reached 13 points on two occasions. It was 11 points (73-52) before Butler was fouled while hitting a three from the comer at 4:21. His and-one toss and two more free throws by Campbell at 3:49 quickly reduced the Falcons deficit to five. 

BGSU twice pulled within one. Cooper responded on the the first occasion with a jumper. However, Thomas hit one of his own at the other end.

Miami was up 77-76 when Suder maneuvered his way to a 3-point shot that started a 7-0 RedHawks run to the finish. 

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Antwone Woolfolk scored 11 points, grabbed a game-high seven regounds and recorded three blocks. (MVSmith/MRO)

NOTES:
• This is the third time this season at least six RedHawks have scored in double figures.
• With their win, the RedHawks have now won eight straight games for the first time since the 1996-97 season. They are 6-0 to start conference play for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
• Miami out-rebounded Bowling Green 33 to 24.
• The Red and White shot better than 50 percent from the field for the 10th time this season.
• Miami cooled to 30.4 percent (7 of 23) from beyond the arc against BGSU. However, MU scored 36 points in the paint and went 15 of 18 at the charity stripe. 

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