OXFORD, Oh -- It was a bounce-back win for Miami and another defeat for MAC-winless Eastern Michigan Saturday at Millett Hall.
Isaiah-Coleman Lands scored 16 points and scored on a key fast-break layup with 18 seconds left as Miami (9-11, 2-5 MAC) defeated Eastern Michigan 73-68 in the interdivisional matchup. Dae Dae Grent drained all four of his free throw opportunities over the final 1:18 to help MU hold off the Eagles furious efforts to break through with a MAC win.
Junior forward Thomas Binelli registered 17 points -- 14 in the first half -- to lead
Miami also had four in double figures. Joining Coleman-Lands were Nike Sibande (14), Grant (13) and Dalonte Brown (10).
After the hosts jumped out to an 11-5 lead and forced an EMU time out, the Eagles went on a 13-2 run. Yeikson Montero's two free throws gave Eastern an 18-13 lead at 12:26. The visitors then twice built as much as a seven-point leads before taking a three-point (37-34) advantage into the break.
Miami chipped away and forged the first of three ties on a Brown jumper at 16:38. Coleman-Lands knocked down a trey at 10:38 to move the RedHawks in front 55-52, and they remained in front through the final buzzer.
Eastern Michigan stayed within five points and was down just one (69-68) after a pair of Darion Spottsville free throws with 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles nearly forced a turnover on a pair of Miami in-bound plays, but Coleman-Lands split the defense for a layup with 18 ticks left. After a 3-point miss by EMU, Grant nailed down the RedHawk win with a pair of free throws.
NOTES:
>> Miami connected on 21-of-58 (48.3%) from the floor overall. Eastern made 21-of-46 (45.7%) but was helped at the foul line where it cashed in on 20-of-26 opportunities. Miami had just eight free throws, and made all eight.
>> Both teams had 15 points off turnovers. MU owned an 8-7 edge in steals, while Eastern Michigan blocked seven shots (4 by 7-0 senior center Boubacar Toure) to just two blocks for Miami.
>> Each team registered 29 rebounds.
>> Miami had the edge in Second chance points (14-11), points in the paint (26-22) fast breaks (12-4) and points off the bench (25-9).
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