COLUMBUS -- After trailing by 17 in the second half, the Miami RedHawks rallied to within three before Ohio State pulled away for a 72-59 victory Saturday at Value City Arena.
It was the sixth win over their . . .
“When you go on the road, you want to put yourself in a position to get a win,” Miami first-year head coach Jack Owens said. “I thought we did that (although) we had a few breakdowns.”
Three Miami players reached double figures and played key parts in the RedHawks challenge.
Sophomore Bam Bowman, a 6-8, 275-pound forward, knocked down 15 points for MU. All of them came from beyond the arc as he made 5 of 7 3-point attempts. Not only did those 15 points account for all the RedHawks scoring off the bench, his five treys were more than half the RedHawks long distance points.
As a team, MU put up 33 triple attempts, making just nine (27.3%). The Buckeyes connected on 8 of 20 threes.
Freshman Nike Sibande flashed a couple big dunks during RedHawk rallies and chipped in 14 points. That put him in double figures for the eighth time in the last nine outings.
Ohio State hit 23 of 55 (41.8%) from the field overall, while the visiting ‘Hawks were good on 22 of 60 (35.7%). That left OSU with one more field goal, but one less 3-point goal. The Buckeyes big advantage at the foul line proved pivotal as Miami out-rebounded OSU 38-36.
Ohio State owned an 11-14 edge in turnovers, although MU improved in the second stanza after nine first half turnovers.
Both teams had their turnovers and neither shot well early. Howver, freshman Kaleb Wesson put the hosts in front for good with two free throws at 16:12 to make it a 5-4 game.
Bates-Diop and Williams combined for nine Buckeye points as OSU put together a 12-4 run to open the second half. That gave the host their largest lead of the game at 49-32 with 14:13 remaining.
If the RedHawks were on the ropes, they bounced back nicely. Miami scored 13 of the game’s next 14 points.
Ringo was a big part, with two steals – one to set up his own layup and another to set up Sibande on a thunderous dunk.
“Ringo is one of the best point guards in the country,” Owens said. “He makes people better. He can score the ball (and) he can find people.”
Dalonte Brown’s layup at 6:03 pulled the RedHawks within three at 57-54, but Jackson and Wallace hit back-to--back threes to kick off a 10-0 Ohio State run that killed off Miami’s final rally.
The RedHawks open conference play Tuesday at Bowling Green (7 p.m. ET). They host Western Michigan Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET).