BG’s Crawford takes game to Miami

‘The beard’ scores a career-high 25 points on 10-of-13 field-goal tries.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 1:36 AM Thursday, January 19, 2012

OXFORD — Miami University basketball coach Charlie Coles said he remembered when Jordon Crawford played at La Salle High School in Cincinnati.

Coles, in fact, tried to recruit the 5-foot-6 guard, now a junior with the Bowling Green Falcons.

“I was about three days too late,” he said.

Miami could have used him Wednesday night. Instead, Crawford scored a career-high 25 points, hitting 10-of-13 field goal attempts in the Falcons’ 65-57 win over the RedHawks.

Coles said there were two keys to victory: Bowling Green’s experience and “the beard.”

He was referring to Crawford’s facial hair.

“He owned us. He owned us,” Coles said. “He took that game to us ... I don’t know where our guys were (on defense). Maybe they couldn’t find him. His beard should have given him away.”

Mavunga moving up: Senior Julian Mavunga scored 17 points and moved into a tie for 23rd place on Miami’s career scoring list with Jim Paul with 1,191 points.

Mavunga passed Fred Foster (1,183 points) and now is closing in on Randy Ayers (1,203), Chuck Goodyear (1,212), and Danny Horace, Chet Mason and Rick Goins, who are in a three-way tie for 18th place with 1,230 points apiece.

Still seven away: After the loss to Bowling Green the RedHawks remain seven Mid-American Conference victories short of the 600 mark in program history.

Miami came into the game with an all-time MAC winning percentage of 63.4, which is tops among the current teams in the conference. The next closest is Ohio (55.2 percent).

Embry, Grunkemeyer honored: Former Miami center and Basketball Hall of Fame member Wayne Embry was honored Wednesday as one of 14 former players whose likenesses are appearing on home tickets this season.

Embry was a five-time NBA All-Star and became the first African-American general manager in NBA history.

Miami assistant coach Jason Grunkemeyer was honored during the previous game Saturday.

Grunkemeyer, one of the more prolific outside shooters in school history, made his most famous shot at the end of regulation in the 2000 MAC Tournament quarterfinals, a 35-footer which tied the score against Bowling Green in a game Miami went on to win in overtime 58-56.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or Pete.Conrad@coxinc.com.

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