Miami Scrapes by and Wins Again
By Ted Brennan
MCGUIRK ARENA, MOUNT PLEASANT, MI – The RedHawks win another close one yet again, this time against the Chips of Central Michigan, 76-70.
In their last win the RedHawks secured their first winning season (excluding the COVID-19 shortened season) since 2008-2009 and tonight they further solidified their winning season, moving to 17-5.
CMU came into this game winners of 3 of their last 5 games. Described on the ESPN+ broadcast as “MAC title favorites,” (hometown bias much?) the Chips had their work cut out for them as the RedHawks of Miami came in a scorching hot 8-1, winners of the last 2 at home.
This game proved why it’s incredibly hard to win on the road. And, if you liked 90s basketball with low scoring and little amounts of 3s, then the first half of this game was for you. The game opened up with the “MAC title favorite” CMU not scoring a field goal for six minutes. Yes you read that right. Six. Whole. Minutes. Meanwhile, actual MAC title favorites didn’t do too much better, only mustering up seven points giving the fans a lovely 7-1 score with 14 minutes to play in the half.
The notable story of the first half was the absence of Miami Sophomore Center Reece Potter. In the last game against Ohio, Potter connected on what looked to be a routine three, but came off the floor hobbling and holding his back. In an early season press conference, Coach Travis Steele revealed Potter dealt with a back injury over the offseason that kept him sidelined for six months. He was able to return for small stretches but was in street clothes tonight in Mount Pleasant. Hopefully it’s just a precaution and he’ll be back for MAC play next week.
The game finally turned around for the RedHawks in the middle of the first half as they amassed a 10 point lead as the threes started to fall and the defense was firing on all cylinders. However, with about three minutes to play in the first half, the RedHawks started slipping and Wing Damarion Bonds (17 pts, led CMU) began to take over. Along with Center Ugnius Jarusevicius (15 pts), the Chips stormed back and after a missed Peter Suder (21 pts) free throw, hit a three to go into halftime down 3.
The second half looked bleak for the RedHawks as CMU jumped out to a five point lead early in the half. However, led by Suder and a resurgent Antwone Woolfolk (10 pts) and a redhot Luke Skaljac (13 pts), the RedHawks dug themselves out of their hole. From there the game was back and forth. Miami grabbed an eight point lead that was eventually whittled down to one in the closing minutes of the game. After some missed layups and free throws on both sides, the RedHawks closed out the game victorious.
It’s now time for (patent pending) Ted’s three takeaways! Today’s notes from this game are as follows as MAC play winds down.
First, Miami’s depth keeps them in games. On RedBrick Recap, I’ve been no stranger to buying the Brant Byers stock. I’ve been higher on him than any player on the squad. However, in the last two games he’s been a little shaky. But this doesn’t seem to slow down the RedHawks. Tonight it was Skaljac with the hot hand off the bench as he went 3-3 from beyond the arc and 5-6 overall for 13 points. This was massive in a night where Potter was unable to provide an offensive (or defensive) spark given his back injury. The theme all year has been “anyone can score on any given night. No one cares who scores the most, we just care what that final score looks like” and tonight was no different.
Second, this team needs to find some consistency/play a full 40 minutes. Steele has essentially been saying the same thing over and over again about his team in pressers and interviews: they need to put together a full 40 minutes together and close out games. Part of this comes from being consistent on the offensive end of the floor. Kam Craft (6 points) went 2-7 from the floor, Mekhi Cooper (2 points) and Evan Ipsaro (5 points) only had one made shot on multiple attempts. This has become commonplace for the RedHawks as they can’t seem to have people other than Suder (and even he has his bad games) consistently flow in the offense. Along the lines of consistency is making free throws. Miami went 13-21 from the line, missing some key free throws down the stretch that would've sealed the game earlier.
Finally, off the ball motion is the key to RedHawks success. When the RedHawks move off the ball with motion and cuts and nice offensive sets and good passing their offense is fun to watch and hard to stop. But they have a tendency to get into slumps where they don’t move the ball as well and the offense stagnates. Part of the reason tonight that the movement slowed is the absence of Potter. Potter has an incredible knack for passing as a center, when he gets to the high elbow. He’s a smart passer who helps the offense go. While Woolfolk is also a skilled passer, the RedHawks don’t use him the same way as Potter, as Woolfolk is not a threat to pull up from the floor. In the second half, the RedHawks moved the ball crisply and freely creating great looks on offense, which they need more of if they want to play a full 40 minutes.
Miami’s next game is Saturday, February 8th in Millett Hall for the second leg of the Sun Belt Conference vs Mid-American Conference Showdown. Miami will take on the Trojans of Troy. After that is a return to regularly scheduled MAC programming with a midweek test with ever-tough Toledo on Tuesday the 11th.