Recap: Men’s basketball snaps 14-year losing streak to Toledo with 92-80 victory

The Miami University RedHawks men’s basketball team (19-5, 10-1 in conference play) took a 92-80 victory at Millett Hall and snapped a 22-game losing streak against the University of Toledo Rockets (15-9, 8-3 in conference play) on Feb. 11.

The RedHawks last defeated the Rockets on Feb. 12, 2011. However, a 40-point performance from redshirt sophomore wing Kam Craft allowed Miami to take its first victory over Toledo in 14 years.

“We break each section of the game into a four-minute war,” Craft said. “We won more wars than the other team tonight. [We] don’t try to get too far ahead of ourselves. We stay level-headed no matter what’s happening, and all that matters is the next war.”

Sophomore guard Evan Ipsaro joined Craft in the double-figures with 14 points. The RedHawks finished with 31 defensive rebounds, their most of the season so far.

Craft quickly shifted the advantage to Miami with his first triple 18 seconds into the game. The RedHawks jumped to a 7-6 lead after five minutes of play, but they built on their lead while holding the Rockets to zero going into the 10-minute mark.

The RedHawks’ 8-0 run included another deep shot from Craft as well as one from redshirt first-year wing Brant Byers. Fifth-year guard Isaiah Adams ended Toledo’s five-minute drought, but Ipsaro responded with a shot from behind the arc to bring Miami up 18-8.

Craft shot two more 3-pointers to extend Miami’s lead 32-16. Following back-to-back dunks from sophomore wing Eian Elmer and junior forward Antwone Woolfolk, the Rockets outscored Miami 14-9 and entered the locker room down 45-30.

The RedHawks kept Toledo at bay at the start of the second half, outscoring the Rockets 21-17 going into the final 10 minutes.

Craft’s seventh 3-pointer gave Miami a 71-48 lead with nine minutes remaining. He added two more triples in the final minutes.

Toledo scored 14 points in the last three minutes, but a 13-point deficit with under a minute left proved to be difficult to overcome. The RedHawks took their 10th victory in conference play 92-80, and the crowd gave Craft a standing ovation for his 40-point performance.

“When you see shots start falling like that, it’s easy to get into a flow state,” Craft said. “I’m just out there finding ways to get open. My teammates are hitting me. I made nine [3-pointers], which was a great feeling.”

Craft joins junior guard Peter Suder as the only RedHawks with 40-point games this season. Miami last boasted two 40-point players in the 1957-58 season with Wayne Embry and John Powell.

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Head coach Travis Steele, who recruited Craft to Xavier University in 2022, highlighted his athleticism and ability to get open as the reason behind his success against Toledo.

“[He] was en fuego out there,” Steele said. “He was like a video game, shooting like Steph Curry. Teammates did a great job of finding him [and] getting him the ball, but his constant ability to stay in motion and not get tired and be able to shoot on the move puts a lot of pressure on teams.”

Miami held a 17-point advantage going into the final four minutes, but the Rockets outscored the RedHawks 18-13. For Steele, last-minute slides like that need to be cleaned up before March.

“The last five minutes stunk,” Steele said. “We’re getting there. We want to peak at the right time: in March. You gotta win three games in three days. That is the goal: Can we get these guys to continuously get a little bit better every single day?”

The RedHawks put themselves two wins ahead of the No. 3 Rockets. The team faces back-to-back road matchups against the Western Michigan University Broncos on Feb. 15 and the Eastern Michigan University Eagles on Feb. 18.

@thekethan04

babukc2@miamioh.edu