Miami head coach John Cooper called it a sloppy game that was there for the taking. Neither team shot the ball particularly well, especially from long range. The Mastadons connected on 40.9 percent from the field overall and 25 percent (6 of 24) from beyond the arc. Miami was at 36.7 percent from the field overall and 13.3 percent (2 of 15) as it again struggled from distance.
The game was tied 22-all after one period, and Miami edged out front early in the final stanza. Logan McLane’s layup put MU up by eight at 33-25. IPFW then began to chip away and went out front on a layup by Joe Reed at 9:53. Geovonie McKnight hit a jumper off his own rebound, but Reed tallied on another layup to put the visitors in front again.
There were two more ties, but IPFW managed to maintain small leads the rest of the way with one exception. Rod Mills gave MU a brief one-point lead at 1:48 with a jumper to make it a 47-46 game.
John Konchar’s jumper, a Max Landis bucket and one Mo Evans free throw moved the Mastadons in front by four with 37 second left. Miami closed to within one point after a McKnight basket at 0:20, but Evans and Landis combined to make five of six free throws down the stretch to hold off MU.
Evans led IPFW scoring with 15 points, followed by Konchar (13) and Landis (10).
Miami put two players in double figures: McKnight and Washington both had 10 points.
The RedHwks return to action Saturday when they face the University of Central Florida Knights in a 1:30 p.m. matchup.