RedHawks win big at Millett during One Miami Day

Saturday was a great day for the Miami University RedHawks, not just as a day of celebration for the football team, but also for men’s basketball, as the team defeated the Ball State Cardinals in a blowout 80-59.

Leading the charge offensively was first-year guard Eian Elmer, who scored 18 points on 8/11 shooting, while senior center Anderson Mirambeaux had 16 points and junior guard Bradley Dean had a season high 15 points. Senior guard Darweshi Hunter had a game high eight rebounds.

As a team, the RedHawks shot 31-60 from the field (51.7%), and 11/23 from behind the arc. While both teams were nearly identical in almost every statistical category, the difference came in the form of assists and steals, with the RedHawks getting 21 assists to the Cardinals’ 10 and 12 steals to the Cardinals’ two.

The game was back and forth for the entire first half, with both teams exchanging the lead multiple times before the RedHawks were able to go up 30-29 at halftime.

The game remained close during the opening minutes of the second half before the RedHawks began to pull away, extending their lead to 10 thanks to back-to-back three pointers from Bradley Dean.

A Ball State technical foul on Head Coach Michael Lewis also proved to be a turning point for the RedHawks, who would use it to propel themselves into a 10-2 scoring run over the next minute and a half to effectively put the game away.

The second half was also fueled by a 20/33 (60.6%) shooting effort from the RedHawks, as well as their stellar shooting from behind the arc, making it the seventh game on the season the RedHawks made 10 or more three pointers.

This game puts both the RedHawks and the Cardinals at 12-13 on the season. Miami is 6-6 in MAC play, while Ball State is 4-8.

The RedHawks’ remaining schedule includes away games at Western Michigan, Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan, and home games against Central Michigan, Toledo and Ohio. If they can repeat the kind of play seen on Saturday, there’s no reason for RedHawk fans to not hope for a top five finish in the conference, as they currently sit at seventh place.

@c__j30

john1610@miamioh.edu