Senior guard Carl Richburg flashes to the hoop for a reverse lay up during Miami's 24-point route of UW-Milwaukee. He started in place of injured Kenny Hayes and scored 14 points.
The Miami University Men's basketball team (5-3) stepped out of the frozen tundra and onto the hardwood of Millett Hall Thursday night, feasting on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers (5-5) to claim a 69-45 victory in the bridge game of a three-game home stand.
It was a tight game early as the Panthers capitalized on several RedHawk turnovers and drove inside for easy buckets. Senior leader Michael Bramos took the team under his wing by sinking a shot from 23 feet out and the 'Hawks never looked back.
Bramos would not be denied. The centerpiece of Miami's new up-tempo offense torched the nets of Millett Hall for a consecutive week. He has totaled 83 points in his last three contests adding 26 against the Panthers.
"I'm just trying to be more consistent this year," Bramos said. "I think my teammates are doing a great job too. It's just a different mindset that I have this year. We are all here during the summer for six weeks, every day. We get a lot of shooting in. The biggest key is the repetition in the offseason. I'm getting better looks than the beginning of the season and it's definitely nice to play at home."
Miami played without point guard Kenny Hayes on a game-time decision due to a wrist injury suffered against Northwestern State University and used a rotation of Carl Richburg and Kramer Soderberg as his replacement. Richburg kept the 'Hawks in the game with his agility, frequently driving in to the hole to make either an athletic shot or a timely dish out to the hot hand of Bramos. He also tallied a career high 14 points for the 'Hawks to go along with a team high four assists. The severity of Hayes is day to day according to Coach Charlie Coles.
"I thought we played pretty good defense," Coles said. "The guys that played the guard position played very, very well. I was worried about losing Kenny for the game because he's a terrific player and a tough competitor. Coming into this game I was really worried about it but Carl and Kramer did a great job."
Richburg, who admittedly relished the opportunity, was just glad to help his team as he was humble enough to thank his teammates on a career night. The point guard also said that he didn't know he was starting until about an hour before tip-off.
"I figured if I didn't start I would play major minutes so I just tried to get mentally and physically focused," Richburg said. "It feels good. We're on a mission right now as a team. It's not about individual performances. We're all trying to make the NCAA tournament."
Forward Tyler Dierkers grabbed 10 boards for the second game in a row. The senior was key in controlling the defensive tempo inside the paint.
Three players tied with eight points to lead the Panthers on a night where the offense failed to execute. The Red and White enforced a fierce interior defense for most of the game, which forced the visitors into bad shot selections and transition opportunities.
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Milwaukee shot just 32 percent from the floor and 21 percent from behind the arc. Miami, meanwhile, stayed red-hot from three-point land. A game removed from hitting on all six second-half three-point attempts, Bramos made six treys in eight attempts Thursday. As a team, the RedHawks shot 55 percent on their tripples.
Miami puts its three-game win streak on the line back at Millett Hall Saturday when the 'Hawks face the Valparaiso University Crusaders. Tip off will be at 4 p.m.
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