Oxford, Ohio - The Miami University men's basketball improved to 2-1 on Wednesday evening with a 67-57 win over Western Illinois (0-3). Senior forward Dalonte Brown had 19 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots on day one of the Miami Invitational to pace the RedHawks.

Miami moves to 2-0 at Millett Hall and used a balanced effort in the win against the Leathernecks.
 
Miami opened the contest on a 14-0 run, holding Western Illinois scoreless for the first 9:38 of the game.

The RedHawks extended their lead to 26-7 following a redshirt junior forward James Beck jumper, but WIU finished the first half on a 14-2 run as the RedHawks went into the locker room with a 28-21 advantage. 

The defensive battle continued after halftime as Miami maintained its seven-point advantage midway through the second half, 43-36.
Western Illinois drained a baseline triple to cut Miami's lead to 50-49 with 3:39 to play, but the RedHawks answered back with a 5-0 run to extend its lead to 55-49 with just over two minutes to play.

Miami made key free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Two Eagles registered double-doubles with redshirt junior Miles Gibson (Richmond, Va.-Milwood (NW Kansas Tech)) (13 points, 13 rebounds) and senior Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy (Pensacola State)) (11 points, 12 rebounds). For EMU, this is the first time two Eagles have obtained double-doubles since then-redshirt junior Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) (22 points, 13 rebounds) and former-Eagle Boubacar Toure (20 points, 13 rebounds) did so against Central Michigan, Feb. 11, 2020. 

Those individual efforts helped EMU (1-2; 0-1 MAC) outscore Adrian (0-4; 0-0 MIAA) 64-28 in the first half and control the pace of play throughout the full 40 minutes of play.

Junior Bryce McBride (Jackson, Tenn.-Southside (Dyersburg State C.C.)) paced the Eagles with career-highs in points (25), made field goals (7), made free-throws (9), and steals (6). Sophomore Chris James (Long Beach, Calif.-St. John Bosco) also had himself a night, as he recorded a career-best in points (19), made free-throws (7), and shot perfectly from the hardwood (5-for-5). On the defensive end, the California native impeded two Bulldogs' shots to pick up his first-ever blocks. Meanwhile, Groce was a tyrant in the paint, earning a career-high in blocks (4). Senior Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C.)) scored in double-figures as well, putting up 10 points, three rebounds, and three helpers.

Eastern entered the game aggressively on both ends of the court, setting the tone for the entirety of the first half. Montero posted the Eagles' first score by hitting a contested three-pointer, courtesy of a perimeter pass from Groce. This was the beginning of a 5-0 run, as the Green and White held the Bulldogs scoreless for the first three minutes of the game. EMU followed Adrian's first basket with another run, increasing its lead to 14, with a score of 18-4. From the jump, the Eagles displayed dominant defense, recording seven steals in just the first five minutes of play, three of those swipes produced by McBride. The stingy effort on defense complimented the fast-paced offense, as 15 of the first 20 Eagle points were acquired in transition. 

The Bulldogs' offense remained fairly silent while the Green and White continued their domination with another 19-0 scoring stint, highlighted by a Groce two-handed dunk with nine minutes remaining in the first half. Eastern's hot shooting increased the score to 39-6 with seven minutes remaining in the period. The Eagles remained relentless for the entirety of the first half, shooting 64 percent from beyond the arc and producing the largest scoring margin in men's basketball history, with a 45-point lead at the half, and beating the previous record of 33.  McBride led the way scoring 17 points, Gibson following close behind adding 13 points of his own towards the Eagles effort. The Virginia product also commanded in the paint, wrangling in 10 rebounds, beating his previous career-high of four within the first 10 minutes of play. Both teams headed to the locker rooms with the score standing at 64-19, Eagles falling only one point short of the record for most points scored in the Convocation Center in one half of play.

The Eagles slowed down in the second half, building a 76-25 advantage with 11:53 remaining in the final period. For freshman Andrew Wells (East Lansing, Mich.-East Lansing (International Sports Academy)), he recorded the first rebound in his career as an Eagle, flying over the Bulldogs for the board. At 3:07 left in the game, Montero drove the length of the floor for a layup. With the basket, the Eagles registered two players with double-doubles for the first time since Groce (22 points, 13 rebounds) and then-senior Toure (20 points, 13 rebounds) against Central Michigan, Feb. 11, 2020. With just over a minute left, Wells nailed a jumper to earn his first career points in his collegiate career.

The Eagles finished the game having shot 31-of-62 (50 percent) from the field, 7-for-18 (38.8 percent) from three-point land, and registered 44 points in the paint.

EMU will head to the Hoosier State for a non-conference contest versus the Valparaiso University Crusaders. Tipoff against the Missouri Conference Valley foe is set for Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m., at the ARC. The Green and White hosted the Crusaders last season, ultimately winning, 85-79. Dec. 3, 2019.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan's size was too much for Toledo to overcome on Wednesday evening in a 91-71 non-conference setback to the Wolverines in the Crisler Center.

Senior Spencer Littleson and junior Setric Millner Jr. paced the Rocket attack with 14 points apiece. Senior Marreon Jackson also finished in double digits with 12 points. Millner Jr. shared the team rebounding lead with junior Jonathan Komagum as each grabbed six boards apiece.

Freshman Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines with a game-high 18 points and finished 8-of-11 from the field.  Senior Isaiah Livers finished with 16 points.

The Rockets finished the evening with a 40.6 shooting mark, but a 55.2 percent from the field in the second half couldn't offset a 28.6 percent clip in the opening 20 minutes.  Toledo posted a 37.5 three-point FG% (9-of-24) and an 83.3 FT% (10-of-12).

Michigan shot 57.6 percent from the field, 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from three-point range and 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the charity stripe.

Toledo returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 12 when it hosts Summit League foe Kansas City. Tip-off time in Savage Arena is set for Noon.