Miami Wins in Dominant Performance over Bethany
By: Jack Mueller
Cover Image by: Ellie Reynolds / Miami Athletics
The Miami RedHawks put together a record-breaking performance to kick off their festive period of games, defeating Bethany College 112-70 at Millett Hall. Despite not playing for nine days, the RedHawks didn’t skip a beat in their return to action. The RedHawks set a program record in made threes (22), which is tied for the highest single game mark in Division I basketball this season.
“It always worries coaches that with a break, guys will take their foot off the gas…I thought we improved a lot this week.” said Miami Head Coach Travis Steele.
Kam Craft was expected to be Miami’s top scorer this season, and showed why on Sunday. He struggled to assert himself against Air Force (0 points) and Indiana (5 points), but bounced back emphatically against the Bison. The Xavier transfer finished with a career-high 34 points on 57% shooting. Craft connected on ten threes, which broke the program record set by Jason Bennett in 2000.
“As a shooter I never lose confidence.” said Craft, “To see ten go through, it’s a great feeling.”
“I give him the neon green light,” said Steele, he’s one of the best shot makers in the entire country.”
Kam Craft rises up for one of his ten threes (photo: Hope Maley / Miami Athletics)
Craft was not alone in the scoring efforts. Freshman Brant Byers put together his best offensive performance as a RedHawk, scoring 21 points on 80% shooting, setting a career high in points, field goals and three pointers. Byers made his first six shots, five of them from behind the arc.
“You can see the confidence start to grow.” said Steele, “We encourage him to shoot the ball…I’m not shocked by the way he performed today.”
The scoreboard and the stat sheet depict a dominant, one-sided victory. Miami won the rebound battle 43-25, grabbing 17 offensive boards which led to 27 second-chance points. They also created 26 turnovers on the defensive side of the ball, allowing them to score 42 points on those possessions.
Despite the numbers indicating dominance, Steele stated that the defense needed to be better, and that his team let the score change their effort as they pulled away. Despite the 40+ point gap, Bethany shot the ball efficiently, connecting on 49% of their shots and sinking 13 threes.
“Offensively we played the right way the whole game.” said Steele, “Defensively our details were bad…that’s where I was frustrated with our guys.”
“You have to be a mature team… you have to respect the game and play the right way.” he added.
The RedHawks jumped out to an 8-3 lead with Antwoine Woolfolk rising up for a putback and Craft connecting on back-to-back threes. A Ben Guffey three got Bethany on the board. Miami kept rolling though, as two more three pointers from Eian Elmer and Craft made the lead 17-6. Evan Ipsaro found space in the lane to add two more, giving the home team a 13 point lead at the first media timeout.
Seemingly instantly, the game got out of Bethany’s reach, as Miami went on a 15-0 run midway through the first half. Brant Byers went on a mini-run of his own, connecting on his first four shots, all threes, to give Miami a 35-13 lead within ten minutes. The RedHawks were red hot from behind the arc, shooting 60% in the first half of the period, with Byers (4), Craft (3), Elmer (1) and Skaljac (1) all connecting from range. Another three by Kam Craft gave Miami a 31 point lead with seven minutes left in the first.
The RedHawks offense simply could not be stopped in the first half. Back-to-back dunks by Reece Potter and another three by Brant Byers pushed Miami past the 50-point mark with more than five minutes to play in the first.
Bethany managed to get back into the game offensively after falling into a large deficit. Guffey connected from three again and Cole Dailey converted an and-one to end a Miami run that lasted for most of the first half. However, Miami’s offense kept rolling. Ipsaro connected from behind the arc and Elmer went 2/2 from the free throw line to reach the sixty-point mark. Craft converted a lay-up in the lane to send the teams to the locker room with Miami leading 62-28.
The RedHawks offense started the first half like they ended the first, on fire. Layups by Suder and Byers got Miami started, followed by back-to-back threes by Craft and Elmer which gave Miami a 73-34 lead after three minutes. Elmer then took over, going on a personal 6-0 run to extend the lead to 38. Kam Craft connected from beyond the arc three more times to eclipse the 80-point mark and give Miami a 40-point lead with 12 minutes to play.
Bethany went on a 9-2 run to cut Miami’s lead to 33, but a tap-in by Antwoine Woolfolk ended the streak. Kam Craft’s 10th three of the night was Miami’s 19th, breaking the program record for threes in one game, and giving the RedHawk’s their 100th points.
Antwoine Woolfolk goes up for a putback (photo: Hope Maley / Miami Athletics)
Miami sent their walk-ons out for the final three-plus minutes of play leading by 44 points. Two Bethany threes in quick succession cut into that deficit courtesy of Jaydis Kennedy and Ben Guffey. Miami’s Blake Anderson registered his first points of the season, converting one of two from the free throw line. Fellow walk-on Ethan Wright one-upped him, hitting a corner three right in front of the bench.
“It’s nice to be able to reward those guys.” said Steele“They prepare us to play every team that we face.”
In this case, that team will be Vermont, who were defeated by the RedHawks in 2023 after a Darweshi Hunter buzzer-beating three pointer snatched victory for Miami. The Catamounts returned their top-five scorers from last season, and will be eager to avenge their defeat from a year ago.
“I've heard a lot about that game.” said Craft, “When we get there we have to take care of business.
Vermont enters the game on a three-game skid, dropping games to Brown, Yale and Colgate in December. At 5-7, Vermont enters the game looking to build some momentum before conference play starts in January. The two sides will face off on Tuesday, December 17th in Burlington.