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Miami men’s basketball takes on Liberty

Photo by Ben Taylor

By Jack Brewer, For The Miami Student

The Miami University men's basketball team hosts Liberty University as part of the Cancun Challenge 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The RedHawks are coming off a 69-50 loss to Evansville. In that game, the RedHawks trailed 26-20 at halftime before being outscored 43-30 in the second half. Junior center L.J. Livingston Jr. led the way for the RedHawks with 12 points on a perfect 6 of 6 from the field. Junior guard Geovonie McKnight also added 11 points, hitting 5 for 14 from the field.

The RedHawks struggled offensively against Evansville's staunch defense, making just 39.6 percent of their shots on the night. Two RedHawks who are big cogs in the Miami offense, senior Will Sullivan and junior Eric Washington, had a hard time getting open shots and were shut down offensively.

Head coach John Cooper emphasized the upcoming Cancun Challenge is going to be all about taking care of business following the loss.

"Cancun is going to be a great experience for the guys, but it's important that stay focused and take care of business," Cooper said. "This trip is all about business."

Junior Eric Washington shared similar thoughts, reiterating that the team needs to stay focused amid the disappointing loss.

"It's definitely a good experience for us to go out of the country," Washington said.

"But we need to stay focused because this is a business trip."

Liberty comes in to the contest with a 2-1 record after 73-63 losing to Virginia Tech. Senior forward Tomasz Gielo was the leading scorer for the Flames with 13 points, shooting 4 for 12 from the field. Redshirt freshman guard/forward Ryan Kemrite, who only played nine minutes off the bench, was the second-leading scorer for the Flames with 11 points.

The RedHawks, currently sitting at 1-1, look to improve to 2-1 before heading to Cancun for a matchup with Northwestern University at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 25. That game takes place in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and will serve as their second game of the Cancun Challenge.

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