Miami Survives Late Ohio Rally, Wins 73-69
By: Jack Mueller
The best party in Oxford was at Millett Hall on Saturday, as the RedHawks defeated the Ohio Bobcats 73-69 in front of almost 8,000 fans. Wally Szczerbiak was among the faces in the crowd that witnessed Miami secure their first winning record of the Travis Steele era.
7,889 represents Miami’s largest attendance for a home game since 1999, and is by far the best mark of Steele’s time in Oxford. Ever since arriving in 2022, Steele has said that “it’s all about year three.” His words materialized on Saturday, as students, alumni and fans packed the house, giving Millett an atmosphere it hadn’t seen in years.
“I’ll never forget the first game I came out against Evansville in year one, you could hear a pin drop. There were maybe 30 people in the building.” said Steele. “To be able to see it grow has been really fun.”
“We haven’t played in an environment like that at Millett.” said Evan Ipsaro, whose 14 points off the bench were crucial for the RedHawks, “We really fed off that energy.”
His big transfer additions made their mark on the game. Peter Suder and Kam Craft combined for 29 points (43% shooting), with the bench providing a major offensive boost. Steele’s subs combined for 35 points, including Ipsaro’s. Two of Ipsaro’s points were the most important of the game, giving Miami the lead late in the second half.
“No one cares how many points they score, they only care about how many points are on the scoreboard,” said Ipsaro.
The Bobcats were without two of their main contributors, AJ Clayton and Aidan Hadaway, who both succumbed to injury. Steele said that his team prepared as if Clayton was going to play, and found out during warmups that he would miss out.
Foul trouble plagued both teams as the game neared its conclusion. Suder, Antwone Woolfolk and Evan Ipsaro were all disqualified for racking up five fouls. Steele admitted after the game that he didn’t know that Ipsaro had four fouls before he picked up his fifth, and said that he wouldn’t have been in the game if he knew.
The RedHawks led by as many as 14 in the second half, but defensive adjustments and a couple prolonged scoring runs propelled the Bobcats back into the game. Steele said that his offense “stalled out”, allowing Ohio to come back.
“We gotta finish the game… I gotta help them get better solutions at the moment.” said Steele.
How It Happened
Three early turnovers allowed Ohio to jump out to an early 7-2 lead after a layup through contact by AJ Brown. A Kam Craft three cut the lead to two, but Shereef Mitchell connected from beyond the arc to keep OU in the driver's seat.
Suder and Craft combined for 14 points in the first eight minutes to bring Miami within two, before Craft finished through contact for an and-one to give Miami their first lead of the game. Luke Skaljac extended that lead with back-to-back threes, bringing the score to 30-22 with six minutes to play in the half. A Reece Potter dunk extended Miami’s scoring run to 12-0.
Shereef Mitchell broke the drought with a layup, but Reece Potter responded with a three to keep the RedHawks advantage in double-digits. Outside of two Mitchell free throws, the score stayed the same in the final two minutes, and the teams went to the locker rooms with Miami leading 35-26.
Jackson Paveletzke broke the scoring drought with his second basket of the day, before Antwone Woolfolk responded with two of his own at the other end. Peter Suder’s second three of the game made it a 12-point game within four minutes of the second half.
Ohio responded with a 6-0 run courtesy of Elijah Elliot’s layup and AJ Brown’s three pointer to make it 42-36. AJ Sheldon’s three cut the lead to five for a moment, but Potter’s second three re-established an eight point advantage. The momentum was fully returned to the RedHawks when Suder made his third three to make it 50-39.
Luke Skaljac finished a layup through contact to extend Miami’s lead to 14 at the halfway mark of the second half. Sheldon responded with his second three, but a smooth crossover and jumper from Evan Ipsaro ensured that the Bobcats couldn’t build momentum.
Ohio crawled their way back into the game through a 7-0 run, highlighted by Vic Searles finding a mismatch in the paint and finishing through a foul to make it 62-57 with more than four minutes to go. The Bobcats cut the lead to two after AJ Brown converted an and-one of his own.
Foul trouble started to affect the RedHawks down the stretch. Suder (15 points) and Woolfolk (9 rebounds, 3 blocks) both fouled out, and Ohio cut the lead to one from the free throw line. AJ Brown looked like he was going to give his team the lead with less than a minute to play, but Potter flew higher and got the block. Eian Elmer added two more from under the basket to make it 68-65 with 30 seconds left.
Shereef Mitchell and Evan Ipsaro got two points each, and Paveletzke restored the one-point difference with ten seconds left. Byers went 1-2 from the line, making it 71-69, then a nightmare for Ohio.
Jackson Paveletzke got the look he wanted, an open layup, down two with under five seconds to play, but he couldn’t get it to fall. Brant Byers rebounded with two massive free throws to secure the win for the RedHawks.
Up Next
As is the nature of the MAC, Miami faces a quick turnaround before meeting their next foe. The RedHawks will travel north to face Central Michigan, who are coming off an impressive victory of their own. They took down Bowling Green 90-71 on their home floor, with Kyler Vanderjagt (25) and Ugnius Jarusevicius (21) both eclipsing the 20-point mark.
The game is on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.