MIAMI BASKETBALL

MU breaks 'Convo Curse' to cap perfect regular season

ATHENS, Oh -- For the fourth time this year, the No. 19 Miami RedHawks required overtime to pick up a win. 
For the 31st time this season, Miami finished with a win.
Eian Elmer scored a career-high 32 points, including 11 at the foul line, to lead Miami (31-0, 18-0 MAC) past Ohio 110-108 in a classic rivalry battle Friday at the Convocation Center. It was the 31st win for MU in as many outings, capping an undefeated regular season. The Bobcats fell to 15-16 overall (9-9 MAC). Both teams will play in next week's MAC Championship Tournament in Cleveland. Miami is the No. 1 seed. 

The matchup . . . 

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. . . actually pitted two streaks against each other. While Miami was riding a 30-game win streak, Ohio owned a 14-game run of wins against MU at the Convocation Center.  MU's last win in Athens was a triple overtime 92-88 victory on Jan. 9, 2011.

The visiting RedHawks led much of the way and were up 54-48 at intermission, Ohio pulled even at 100-all following a Javan Simmons dunk with 40 seconds left. After a Simmons block and Miami miss at the other end, the 'Cats fed guard Jackson Paveletzke, who put up a running shot in the lane with two seconds left. When it rolled off and into MU forward Antwone Woolfolk's hands, the game went to overtime. 

The teams traded leads in the extra period, with Ohio moving in front a final time when Simmons put back a miss to give the hosts a 108-107 edge with 22 seconds left. Miami, however, moved back in front 10 seconds later when Suder drained two free throws. 

Paveltzke, who played all 45 minutes and tallied a career-high 37 points to lead all scorers, had two more opportunities to pull out a Bobcat victory and wreck the RedHawks streak. The first was a layup with five seconds left. His missed shot was grabbed by Miami freshman Jason Kirby, who was quickly fouled by Simmons. 

Shooting the double bonus, Kirby missed the first and made the second. That left Miami up 110-108 and Ohio with 4.7 seconds to score. With the home crowd roaring, Paveletzke launched a final 3-point attempt from the left wing. That, however, bounced away as the final horn sounded. 

Joining Paveletzke in double figures for Ohio were Simmons (30 points, 9 rebounds), Aidan Hardaway (20 points) and Dior Conners (10 points). 

Miami, meanwhile, got 32 points from Elmer and 21 from freshman Trey Perry off the bench. Brant Byers tallied 15 points, followed by Suder (13) and Kirby (10). 

The RedHawks connected on 50.7 percent from the field overall, but made three less field goals (37-33) and three fewer treys (14-11). 

A key difference was at the free throw line, which was a busy place. Not only was it a physical contest, several Miami players were hit with technical fouls. Nonetheless, MU made 31 of 41 charity tosses on the night. Ohio knocked down 20 of 25. 

NEXT: Miami faces UMass Thursday (11 a.m.) in MAC Championship Tournament first round action at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.  Ohio plays Kent State in Thursday's final game.

NOTES
•   Elmer recorded the first double-double of his career: 32 points, 12 rebounds.
•   With this victory, the RedHawks improved to 8-0 in one-possession contests this year.
•   The RedHawks continued to build on the program record for most consecutive road wins overall (15) and in a season (14).
•   The Red and White finish the regular season with the most consecutive conference wins in MAC history (originally set by Miami in 1956-57 at 16-0).
•   Miami captured its 1500th win in program history.