MIAMI BASKETBALL

MU offense sputters again in loss to Panthers

By MIKE SMITH
ATLANTA, GA -- The Miami RedHawks' offensive struggles continued Saturday as Georgia State handed MU a decisive 73-53 loss at the GSU Convocation Center. The game was part of the MAC-Sunbelt challenge, and all Mid-American Conference teams faced road tilts against Sunbelt Conference foes Saturday. 

It was the 'Hawks third straight loss and second straight game in which MU failed to reach 60 points.
Miami is now 11-13 (5-6 MAC) on the campaign. Georgia State raised its season record to 11-13 (5-7  SBC) with its second straight win.

Four Panthers reached double figures. Toneari Lane led the way with 17 points, followed by Lucas Taylor (15), Leslie Nkereuwem (14) and Dwon Odom (10). 

Miami, meanwhile, had . . . 

---

. . . just one player in double figures for the second straight game. Darweshi Hunter tallied 19 points. Four other starters combined for 18 points, and bench players contributed a total of 16 points.

Georgia State shot 43.8 percent from the field, including 4 of 12 (33.3%) from beyond the arc before intermission. With MU hitting just 30.8 percent overall in the first half, the Panthers took an early lead and carried a 10-point advantage (35-25) into halftime. 

Hunter buried two quick treys when play resumed, moving Miami within four points. However, the RedHawks would finish Saturday connecting on just 6 of 31 (19.4%) from beyond the arc. Hunter (4 of 13) accounted for four of those six makes. 

Miami slipped to 27.8 percent from the field after intermission, including 3 of 18 (16.7%) from long distance. Georgia State, on the other hand, hit 56.0 percent of its second half shots. 

The knockout blow came midway through the final period. After a bucket by Dean left MU trailing 53-44, Georgia State ran off 11 straight points to give it a 20-point cushion with 7:56 to play. Each teams scored nine points after that. 

---

NOTES:
-- Miami does not have a mid-week game this week. It returns to MAC action Saturday when it hosts Ball State (3:30 p.m. ET). The frisbee disc dogs will perform at halftime. 
-- Miami had two more rebounds overall and a 15-6 edge in offense rebounds. That helped MU hold a 14-12 advantage in second chance points. However, GSU tallied 30 points in the paint to 22 by Miami in the lane. 
-- Hunter and Mekhi Cooper were the only Miami players to log more than 20 minutes. Each logged 30 minutes. 
-- After reaching double figures in nine of his first 11 games this year, Anderson Mirambeau has been in single digits in three of the last four. However, he played just 12 minutes (with 4 points) Saturday, while 7-1 freshman Reece Potter logged 20 minutes (eight points) against a non-conference foe. 
-- After missing the Kent State and Ohio games, sophomore Ryan Mabry logged nine minutes against NIU and 13 against Georgia State. Mabry, who reached double digits in 9 of 11 games at one point this year, has yet to score since his return to action. All six shots were from beyond the arc.