Thursday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Miami 76, Mercyhurst 71
Northern Kentucky 90, Central Michigan 66
Ohio State 91, Western Michigan 58
Recap courtesy of Miami Athletic Communications
Miami 76, Mercyhurst 71
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio– The Miami University men's basketball team edged past Mercyhurst 76-71 Thursday night at Millett Hall. Almar Atlason led the RedHawks (4-0) with 16 points, while four other RedHawks added double figures in scoring. Bernie Blunt and Jake Lemelman led the Lakers offense with 15 points each.
A baseline drive from Eian Elmer that led to a bank shot and a corner three from Luke Skaljac gave Miami an early 5-0 advantage. Back-to-back triples from Brant Byers and an Atlason three kept Miami in control at 16-11 with 13:32 on the game clock. An Antwone Woolfolk layup and a pair of free throws from Evan Ipsaro extended the RedHawks' lead to 21-13.
The Lakers fought back to make it a four-point game at 23-19, when a pair of traditional three-point plays from Atlason pushed the RedHawks ahead by double digits at 31-19. A combination of free throws from Byers and Ipsaro, as well as a Tyler Robbins layup, sent Miami into halftime with a 37-29 lead.
A two-hand slam from Woolfolk put the RedHawks back on top by double figures at 39-29 at the beginning of the second half. Mercyhurst responded by cutting the deficit to just four points at 42-38, but a pair of layups from Trey Perry and Atlason kept the RedHawks on top 47-38 with just under 16 minutes of action left. The Lakers didn't go away, shrinking Miami's lead to just one point at 47-46. Ipsaro knocked down his fifth and sixth free throws of the game, and Skaljac added a three from the left wing to fend off the Lakers' push at 52-48.
Byers sank his third three of the game, and Ipsaro found Elmer for a layup at 60-56, but Mercyhurst answered by evening the score at 60 apiece with 7:13 to play. The Lakers took their first lead of the game at 63-62. Trailing 65-64 with under four minutes to go, Skaljac flew down the floor for a tough layup through contact to help Miami regain the lead at 66-65. Mercyhurst reclaimed the lead at 71-70 with 1:33 remaining, but Skaljac, Ipsaro and Byers combined to shoot 6-6 from the free-throw line in the final stretch to edge past the Lakers 76-71.
Miami stays home for a contest against Arkansas - Pine Bluff on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m.
