Men's basketball can't find first road victory against BGSU

Miami's men's basketball continues to struggle against conference opponents. The team lost 83-72 at Bowling Green State University in a Mid-American Conference matchup on Tuesday evening.

The RedHawks are now 9-13 overall and 2-7 in the MAC. They have lost all nine of their road games and have dropped seven of their last eight.

"Obviously it was a very disappointing loss. We knew exactly what we had to do to win the game and we did not do it," assistant coach Trey Meyer said. "It was pretty simple -- taking care of the basketball and rebounding the basketball were two of the five or six things that were the key focus for us. We did not do well in those areas, therefore we got beat."

The Bowling Green Falcons improve to 9-13 overall, 3-6 in the MAC and 8-5 at home.

The contest looked close when it began, though Miami didn't lead they matched BGSU's baskets with the help of six points from redshirt sophomore guard Jake Wright.

The game was tied five minutes in and a layup from freshman guard Michael Weathers gave the RedHawks the lead a minute later. BGSU's senior forward Wes Alcegaire led the Falcons' offense with several good three pointers but Miami managed to hold the Falcons to a single digit lead through 15 minutes of play.

For the remainder of the half, Miami struggled with making baskets as the Falcons went on a 12-3 run. Miami's last basket from the field was at 12:18 and the first half ended with the RedHawks down 15 points at 42-27.

"If you start off the game with three or four bad possessions you can dig yourself a hole. Or, vice versa," Meyer said. "If you have a lead in the second half and you have two, three, four bad possessions your lead can evaporate really quickly."

The second half started with early scoring from both teams. Miami scored 19 points in the first seven minutes with threes from Wright, and junior forwards Rod Mills Jr. and Logan McLane. BGSU matched them with 18 points of their own to maintain their lead at 61-46.

A quiet two minutes followed until freshman center Darius Harper broke the silence with a layup and Michael Weathers followed with two good free throws.

The Falcons responded with their strong offense and capitalized on Miami's fouls and turnovers.

A 9-3 counter from Miami cut the lead to under 10 with a minute and change left. Two free throws sunk by BGSU senior guard Zack Denny was answered by a good three from Miami's Wright in the final seconds, but the Falcons had already secured their 11 point victory.

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"As far as winning on the road, for whatever reason in college basketball, it's tough to win on the road," Meyer said. "We know that we won on the road last year; it's not like we've never won on the road before. But for some reason this year we just haven't gotten over the hump, and it's definitely a monkey on our back and we're just trying to overcome it and get one on the road."

Wright ended with 16 points and has been consistently scoring over 10 points in the New Year. McLane has also found his stride recently and ended with 14 points against the Falcons. BGSU's Alcegaire had 25 points.

Though Miami shot 56.5 percent for the game, their 31 fouls -- 22 of which came in the second half -- and 24 turnovers contributed to the team's loss.

The RedHawks return to Millett Hall this Saturday to take on Kent State at 3:30 pm. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.