OXFORD, OH -- The Miami RedHawks had a "connectivity" problem through the first half of Saturday's game against Alabama A&M.
MU connected on just under 30 percent from the field before intermission, but the RedHawks found the right buttons in the second half. Hitting over 50 percent from the field and beyond the arc over the final stanza, Miami rallied to post a 79-63 victory over the visiting Bulldogs at Millett Hall.
Already missing senior center Bam Bowman and freshman forward Javin Etzler, MU got less than 17 minutes from junior forward Nike Sibande. He was banged up in . . .
Miami forward Milos Jovic, playing a season-high 26:57, opened scoring with a dunk and the RedHawks built up a nine-point lead (16-7) after Grant hit a trey at 13:20.
It was 18-9 when A&M went on a 14-2 run to take a 23-20 lead with 3:41 remaining. Although MU took a brief one-point lead, the Bulldogs owned a 32-29 halftime advantage.
Sibande quickly tied things and then put the RedHawks back in front with back-to-back threes when play resumed. It kicked off a 16-4 run that gave Miami an 11-point lead at 47-36 at the 15:17 mark. During the stretch, MU hit four threes. Over the final 20 minutes, Miami would make 10-of-19 (52.6%) from outside the arc and 58.1 percent from the field.
The momentum stayed with MU as the RedHawks expanded their lead to as many as 23 points. Brown's two free throws at 4:35 gave Miami a 73-50 advantage. A&M never got closer than the final 16 point margin.
>> Miami ended up with 15 treys on the day, while the Bulldogs hit eight.
>> MU held a 47-31 advantage in rebounds and scored 13 second chance points to just six for A&M.
>> The RedHawks led for 33:35.
>> Miami had 20 assists, with five coming from Jovic.
>> Ten of 11 RedHawks available scored in the contest. All 10 also had at least one rebound.
>> Miami owned advantages in points off turnovers (15-6), second chance points (13-6), fast breaks (11-5) and points off the bench (29-13)