MEN'S BASKETBALL MIAMI 73, OHIO 49
Bramos leads RedHawks in rout over rival Bobcats
Guard scores 31 points; Miami moves into a tie with Ohio for No. 4 seed in MAC tournament.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
OXFORD — Maybe it's a coincidence that Saturday was the first day of March, but there did seem to be a little Madness in the way the Miami RedHawks dealt with the Ohio Bobcats.
Miami, which had been saddled with three excruciating losses in the previous four games, busted loose against their arch-rivals and socked it to the Bobcats 73-49 at Millett Hall.
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Get latest headlines via RSS feedsMiami head coach Charlie Coles was unable to enjoy the victory in person. He was ill, so associate head coach Jermaine Henderson took his place.
"He's doing well," Henderson said. "He was actually in the office earlier today. He's been under the weather a little bit. You know his history (with heart problems). He wanted to check it out. It was just a precaution. He's fine."
So were the RedHawks, who improved to 14-13 overall, 8-6 in the Mid-American Conference and moved into a tie with Ohio in the battle for the No. 4 seed and first-round bye for the MAC Tournament.
Michael Bramos scored 31 points, the fourth time this season he has reached the 30-point mark, and the Miami defense held Ohio to season lows in first-half points (14), total points (49) and field goal percentage (24.6).
Henderson said it was more a matter of magic than madness.
"We call it Miami Magic," he said. "It was one of those nights. There was something in the air here at Millett. I think the kids could feel it and they responded very well.
"You take the rivalry, you take the energy, it was more than a shot in the arm," he said of the 24-point win, the largest margin over Ohio since the RedHawks beat the Bobcats 79-55 in 2002. "It was everything we needed."
Tim Pollitz, who added 10 points and four steals, said the RedHawks had a good plan for defense.
"The difference tonight was, we were the aggressor from the get-go," Pollitz said of the RedHawks, who led 37-14 at halftime. "We had a gameplan to take away their inside presence, Leon (Williams), to make it tough for him to have any touches or looks, and tonight we followed the gameplan. We've got to do that more often."
Bramos also blocked two shots and had three steals. Kenny Hayes chipped in with 12 points and Tyler Dierkers had nine rebounds.
The Bobcats (18-10, 8-6 MAC) were led by Williams with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Miami returns to action Tuesday night, March 4 at Kent State.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
