The Hoosier State is beckoning the Miami University men’s basketball team again.

The RedHawks will head to Evansville tonight, having suffered a 57-56 loss at IPFW last weekend to fall to 3-3.

“We didn’t finish out a game on the road, but I don’t think we took a step backward,” MU coach John Cooper said of squandering a 14-point lead and losing to the Mastodons on a layup in the final seconds. “I don’t care about the last play. I can show you 40 other plays that cost us.

“We saw how many opportunities we didn’t take advantage of. So now hopefully we understand that you have to take advantage of those opportunities because they’ll come back and bite you.”

It was another tough night for center Drew McGhee, a 6-foot-11 redshirt junior who played eight minutes off the bench, failed to score and grabbed one rebound.

McGhee, among the RedHawks’ most productive players down the stretch last season, is averaging 10.2 minutes, 2.5 points and 2.3 boards per game in the new up-tempo style preached by Cooper.

“Everybody came into the season with a really open mind, and I think everyone has evolved nicely into coach Cooper’s style,” McGhee said. “The points per game is a lot higher than last year. That makes it fun to play and also fun for the fans to watch.”

The North Ridgeville native insisted that he’s enjoying the faster pace, even though he’s shooting just 30.0 percent from the floor.

“The scoring will come,” McGhee said. “We’ve got other people shooting well right now, and there’s more to the game than just scoring. I’m playing defense as best I can and running the floor and getting other people the open shots.

“I feel like I can play in any system. I feel comfortable. I am comfortable.”

Evansville (4-3) is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Purple Aces are coming off a 79-72 defeat at Colorado State — they’ve also lost to Notre Dame (58-49) and Buffalo (56-50).

Evansville’s top three scorers are guards: freshman D.J. Balentine (11.3), senior Ned Cox (10.1) and senior Colt Ryan (10.0). Senior guard Troy Taylor is averaging 4.0 points, 5.1 boards and 3.9 assists per game.

“They’re a motion team, five guys that understand how to help each other score,” Cooper said. “I like their toughness and mental approach to the game.”

McGhee said the Aces look like a physical squad, especially on picks. “We’re going to do a lot of switching and see how it goes,” he added.

Cooper said Miami junior guard Josh Sewell is questionable for tonight because of an ankle injury. He’s missed four straight games.