In an emotional farewell, senior forward Tim Pollitz kisses center court Sunday at Millett Hall before checking out for the last time in his final regular season game at Miami.
The Miami men's basketball team sprung into the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament with a win Sunday during Tim Pollitz's final game in Millett Hall.
Jockeying for position in next week's conference tournament and looking to avenge a discouraging loss earlier in the week to Kent State University, the RedHawks trounced Bowling Green State University 75-59 in the regular season finale.
"I thought this was the perfect way to end the (regular) season," said associate head coach Jermaine Henderson, who will be replacing head coach Charlie Coles for the remainder of the season.
Pollitz, the lone senior honored on Senior Day, made the most of his Millett farewell, erupting with 15 second-half points to finish the afternoon with 18 points in addition to eight rebounds.
After leaving the floor for the final time, Pollitz knelt at half court, giving center court one final kiss goodbye.
"I'm going to miss this place, miss playing with these guys," Pollitz said. "You give four years of your life to something, it means a lot to you."
Finishing as Miami's all-time leader in field goal percentage, Pollitz lived up to his reputation, connecting on seven of his 12 shot attempts.
Although Pollitz hammered the final nails in the Falcons' coffin during the second half, Miami's Sunday victory was sealed in the opening period.
"We did a good job keeping the lead the whole game," said junior guard Michael Bramos. "I don't think they wilted (after Miami's early lead)."
The RedHawks' strong first half was déjà vu from their last home contest against Ohio University. The Red and White stifled Bowling Green on defense, consistently forcing contested shots as the shot clock expired.
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"I don't know if it was lucky or if we're that good," Henderson said. "But we got some misses early (from Bowling Green)."
As the Falcons struggled to get off the ground, the RedHawks soared offensively, shooting well over 50 percent from the field to jump out to an early insurmountable lead.
After missing Miami's first date with Bowling Green, Bramos gave the RedHawks an impressive performance to avenge the January loss against the Falcons in Bowling Green.
"We realize, playing (Miami) the second time, how much of a difference (Bramos) makes," said Bowling Green head coach Louis Orr.
Bramos scored 12 of Miami's first 15 points as the 'Hawks opened up a 15-3 lead just over six minutes into the game.
The 'Hawks needed only the first eight minutes of the game to accumulate a 19-5 advantage as they held the Falcons to a mere two of 10 shooting while connecting on seven of their first 10 shots.
Bramos finished the opening run with his third consecutive three point field goal to put the 'Hawks up by double digits for the rest of the afternoon. Bramos ended the contest with a game-high 24 points on nine of 13 shooting, including a five of seven effort from beyond the arc.
Miami played its third consecutive game without Coles, who will miss the rest of the season as he continues to undergo unspecified precautionary medical tests.
"I think they're playing with (Coles) in the back of their mind," Henderson said.
Pollitz said he uses Coles' absence as a motivating factor.
"Our leader, coach (Coles) is not with us at all," Pollitz said. "We miss him a lot. (His absence) helps us motivate. We want to get wins for coach."
Miami's comfortable lead also gave Henderson an opportunity to dig deep into his bench as every player saw game action.
"It certainly helps when you can put people in and not to the detriment of the team," Henderson said. "Today was good, (we had some players) get some game sweat and game baskets."
The RedHawks will now look to take this win to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament. As the reigning tournament champions, the 'Hawks see the tall task they have at hand.
"Guys are coming with a lot of fire and want to defend our MAC title," Pollitz said. "Throw the records out, it's still our title ...Winning it gives us confidence. We have guys that have battled. Those guys know how to play and get it done, we wish our record was a little better but we have a lot of confidence. We're coming into the tournament playing our best basketball."
Miami will enter as the fifth seed in the tournament and face 12th seeded University of Buffalo in the first round at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The winner will advance to play No. 4 Ohio in the quarterfinals at 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
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