Miami pulls away from Huskies for fifth straight Byers scores 17 points off bench in 18 minutes ![]() By MIKE SMITH DeKALB, IL -- Northern Illinois held Miami's leading scorer to one basket and saddled Miami (12-4, 4-0 MAC) with early foul trouble, but the RedHawks used their depth to post an 84-69 victory Tuesday at the NIU Convocation Center. It was the sixth straight win for MU, which is tied with Akron and Ohio (all at 4-0) atop the MAC standings. Northern Illinois (4-12, 0-4 MAC) dropped its fourth straight and remains winless in conference play. The Huskies were pummeled by Ohio 108-70 last Saturday in Athens, but they stepped up their game against MU. A big part of . . . . . . that was the defensive effort against Miami wingman Kam Craft. Averaging 17 ppg, he was held to four shots and three points by the Huskies.
Offensively, NIU connected on 53.8 percent from the field before intermission. That allowed the hosts to stay with Miami through the first half. Both teams hit 14 field goals and seven treys in the first 20 minutes. The RedHawks managed to take a 48-42 lead to the locker room thanks to a six-point edge at the foul line. Offcials called 25 fouls in the first half, many on screens. That took its toll on MU big men Antwone Woolfolk (2 fouls) and Reece Potter (3 fouls), who were limited to nine minutes apiece before intermission. Woolfolk managed to finish with four fouls in 21 minutes. That allowed him to contribute 12 points and eight points. The Huskies stayed on Miami's heels early in the second half and pulled within one (56-55) on Jayden Mott's layup at 13:49. MU's Peter Suder, made free throw at 12:50, but the next field goal didn't come until 11:40 when Mekhi Cooper connected on a triple. It was the first of five field goals by five different players in a 15-2 RedHawks run. Two free throws by Evan Ipsaro at 6:18 gave MU a 71-57 advantage. Miami was up by 10 (77-67) with 1:25 left. Craft then hit a triple with 10 seconds later and MU finished with a 16-point edge. Five RedHawks reached double figures. Brant Byers came off the bench to score 17 points in 18 minutes. He connected on 5 of 7 (all beyond the arc) from the field. Suder tallied 15, followd by Elmer (13), Woolfolk (12) and Cooper (11). Quentin Jones led all scorers with 21 points. Other Huskies in double figures were Tsvet Sotirov (13) and James Dent Jr. (12). After connecting on 53.8 percent from the field in the first half, NIU cooled down to 27.3 percent after intermission. Miami, on the other hand, shot 54.5 percent in the second half. Miami held a 39-26 rebounding advantage. The RedHawks also scored 10 more points in the paint (30-20) and got 20 more points from the bench (30-10). Comments are closed.
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Editor-Publisher Mike SmithMike grew up in Mid-American Conference football and basketball territory and returned there after military service. He has been covering MAC football and men's basketball for much of the last several decades. Archives
February 2025
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