MIAMI BASKETBALL

Clutch shots lift Miami to OT win over Buffalo

RedHawks overcome shaky free throw performance

Antwone Woolfolk finishes the flush. Woolfolk recorded a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. He also had two blocks and five steals. (MVSmith/MRO)

By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH  -- Eian Elmer and Peter Suder drained a pair of critical threes, enabling Miami (19-0, 7--0 MAC) to slip past Buffalo (13-5, 3-3 MAC) 105-102 Saturday in an overtime thriller at Millett Hall. With the victory, MU remained perfect on the season. The Bulls dropped their third straight. 

"What a college basketball game! It went back and forth throughout the game," Miami head coach Travis Steele said. "We made big plays in big moments, and that is what great teams do. They find a way, even when maybe you don't play  your best game."

Three UB players scored at least 20 points as UB nearly broke the RedHawks perfect start to 2025-26. Buffalo led 50-48 at halftime and held small leads for nearly the entire final five minutes of regulation. Two free throws by Daniel Freitag with 12 seconds remaining gave UB an 88-85 edge.

Suder missed a . . . 

---

Peter Suder drives to the basket during second half action. The senior led all scorers with 37 points. (MVSmith/MRO)

. . . triple try with three seconds left. However, teammate Brant Byers was able to tip the rebound out to Elmer, who launched a game-tying three. "It looked good when it left his hand," said Steele, who also praised Byers' crucial tip. 

Buffalo led just once in overtime (92-91) and was down 98-92 with 1:42 remaining. The Bulls then chipped away and drew even (102-102) when Ezra McKenna hit a trey with 19 seconds left. 

Miami ran the clock down from there. "It was either Luke Skaljac gets a good matchup and he goes (with the shot) or I get a good matchup and I go. That was the play," said Suder, who ended up with the ball. "I know I wanted the ball. I was feeling good," he said, adding, "I knew it was in once I shot it. "

 A final Buffalo heave was well of the mark, setting off a brief MU celebratory lap before the customary hand shakes. "Conference wins are hard regardless - home and away," said the senior.  "We've got to understand we're going to get everybody's best shot and just handle business and stay together." 

Suder, who has increased his role as a ball handler since point guard Evan Ipsaro's season-ending injury, led all players with 37 points. That included 7 of 10 from long distance.

"Pete was tremendous," Steele said. "He is a winner. Today, he needed to score for us, so guess what he did. He went and scored that ball."

---

Eian Elmer puts up a shot as Mikhail Pocknett defends. (MVSmith/MRO)

Luke Skaljac (18 points, 10 assists) and Elmer (17 points) combined for 35 points. Brant Byers added 14 points, while Antwone Woolfolk recorded a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.  "We had great performances across the board from a lot of people.," Steele observed. 

Buffalo also had five players in double figures. Angelo Brizzi led the way, hitting 9 of 12 field goals (4 of 5 threes) on the way to 24 points. Daniel Freitag tallied 22 and Ryan Sabol added 20. Tim Oboh and Derrick Talton Jr. chipped in 11 apiece. 

While Steele was anticipating a challenging offensive showing by UB, he felt MU enabled the Bulls  to do  too much damage. "We weren't good enough on (the defensive) end tonight -- no where near it. 
I want to see us much, much, much  better on that end." 

Miami will faced another tough test Tuesday when it visits Kent State (7 p.m., ESPN+). Buffalo, meanwhile, hosts Akron (6:30 p.m., ESPN+). Both Akron and Kent State are MAC one-loss teams. ​

---

Justin Kirby drives the baseline during second half action. (MVSmith/MRO)

Luke Skaljac drives against Daniel Freitag. (MVSmith/MRO)

NOTES: 
• Saturday's tilt was a tight battle that had 27 lead changes.  Neither team led by more than seven points. Buffalo was in front 47 percent of the contest. 
• Miami connected on 57.6 percent (38/66) from the field overall and 44.8 percent 13/29) on threes. However, the RedHawks made just 61.5 percent (16/26) at the free throw line.  Steele noted the poor foul shooting was particularly damaging, given some of the shots were the front of one-and-one chances. 
"It's really like 16 of 28 or 29, which is horrific. Shaq can do that. . . . We've been top 10 in the country in free throw percentage all year. Tonight, it wasn't that way.," he said. 
• Buffalo made 19 of 23 charity shots (82.6%).The Bulls did not miss a free throw in the first half or overtime. 
UB connected on 53.8 percent (35/65) from the field and 50 percent (13/26) on threes. 
• Miami owned a 20-15 edge in points off turnovers and 50-34 advantage on points in the paint. 
• The Bulls out-rebounded MU 36-31. 
•  Both Suder and Steele remarked on a vocal crowd on hand for Saturday's tilt. 
"The crowd was awesome. They were into it. We don't even have students on campus yet. I can't want to see what this place looks like when we get the students back here," Steele said. 
"The crowd here was amazing. Suder observed, adding, "Just keep showing out, and we're going to keep performing." ​

---