OXFORD, Oh -- With just one win since Thanksgiving week to their credit, the Miami RedHawks sorely needed a victory -- especially with Christmas looming and a MAC season approaching.
Led by Nike Sibande's double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, MU picked up that victory and evened its season mark at 6-6 with a 71-55 win Saturday at Millett Hall.
Dalonte Bown (12) and Isaiah Coleman-Lands (11) joined Sibande in double figures.
Bradley, which played without the services of leading scorer and rebounder Elijah Childs, fell to 8-4 on the campaign. It was the Braves first loss since falling at No. 15 Memphis back on Dec. 3.
"It was great to see the guys put it together for 40 minutes," said Miami head coach Jack Owens, who watched his team hang with No. 3 Louisville for 32 minutes before the Cardinals pulled away Wednesday night.
Bradley never held a lead against the RedHawks, who led for 38:03. Sibande opened scoring with a trey at 18:27, but the two teams were tied at 7-all with 13:38 remaining. Mekhi Lairy responded with a jumper in the lane at 12:54 and MU gradually expanded its advantage to 12 points following Dae Dae Grant's layup in traffic.
The visitors chipped away and scored the last seven points of the period to trail 30-27 at the break. However, Miami quickly regained momentum when play resumed. Myja White and Brown combined for all nine points in a 9-1 RedHawk run.
Miami's lead never fell below eight points after that and was in double figures for most of the period. Its biggest edge was 23 points with 5:41 remaining.
The RedHawks were up 71-48 at that mark and failed to register another point, while Bradley put seven points on the scoreboard.
Overall, Miami hit 23-of-59 (39%) from the field and 11-of-28 (39.3%). Bradley made 18-of-55 (32.7%) from the floor and 6-of-17 (35.3%) outside the arc. It could have helped it's own cause at the line, where it had 26 opportunties, but Bradley made just 13 (50%). MU hit 13-of-17 (82.4%) from the stripe.
Bradley did most of its damage inside, outscoring MU 20-10 in the paint. Ville Tahvanainen (12) and Nate Kinnell (11) led the way. Bradley also owned a 43-40 edge on the boards, with Koch Bar providing 10 rebounds (along with seven points). Still, Owens indicated the RedHawks have improved their rebounding work as they have gotten healthier.
"That's been a big focus in practice, ... but when you've had limited bodies the way we've had, we haven't been able to (effectively work on) physically blocking out," Owens said. "You're seeing a team that is getting healthier and ready to practice ... on the things that we need to work on on both sides of the ball."
NOTES:
>> Leading scorer Nike Sibande was injured in the first minutes of last week's game against Mississippi State. Despite spending most of that game in a boot, he played 20 minutes Wednesday at Louisville and 28:07 against Bradley. Owens indicated the junior guard is about 70-75 percent of full health. With the RedHawks' final non-conference game scheduled for Dec. 30, Sibande and teammates will have some time to recover. "All these guys deserve a few days off," Owens said.
>> Owens indicated the Bradley, Drake and Fort Wayne games have been "our most complete games as far as having the guys focused and their attention to detail."
>> The RedHawks registered 13 assists and eight turnovers.
>> Owens was forced to work around some foul issues as Miami finished with four players owning four fouls apiece. Bradley eventually had one player foul out, and three other players with four fouls. A total of 43 fouls were called.
>> Miami's final non-conference game is against Wilberforce Monday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. ET.
>> The RedHawks' first two MAC tilts are on the road -- at Central Michigan (Jan. 4), followed by a trip to preseason favorite Bowling Green (Jan. 7).