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Antonio Ballard scored a game-high 14 points / Photo: Mike Smith

Coles  –  along with a few starters  –  did get to relax down the stretch Wednesday as Miami pounded Northern Illinois 80-52.  Northern Illinois looked like a team that had gotten off a long bus ride, which it had. Miami looked like a team that wanted to show it could start a home game with energy and efficiency, and it did.

“Northern is a team that worries me, because they’ve got some good young players,” Coles said. “I don’t think they played their best ball tonight …. When you start out with a six-hour bus ride, but it ends up being 11 hours, I think that wears on your team.”

The Huskies started quickly enough with five game-opening points, but their instant offense was gone just as quickly and Miami ran off 12 straight points to take command. By halftime, it was a 20-point lead.

“The last two home games, both Buffalo and Ohio just took it to us … early, and they controlled the game,” Cole said.

Miami took command against the Huskies with good play at both ends. Offensively, the RedHawks avoided another first half funk by shooting 53.6 percent (15 of 28) from the field. Defensively, they held Northern Illinois to 21.9 percent. Miami also registered eight blocks on the evening, most of them in the first half.

“Our big guys stepped up and blocked shots,” Coles said. “It turned into some fast breaks, and that is a part of our game we haven’t seen in a while.”

“He’s the (best) jumper we have on our team, and he’s not afraid to go for it,” Coles said. “He goes up in the air and gets it.”

Ballard, who missed over a month with a hand injury that required surgery, entered Wednesday’s game shooting 60.6 percent from the field since his return. The 6-4 redshirt sophomore was 5-for-9 against the Huskies, and also grabbed six rebounds.

Joining Ballard in double figures for the hosts were Michael Bramos (13) and Nick Winbush (11).  Tyler Dierkers had nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes of action.

Northern Illinois, which also struggled on the offensive end in a recent 58-45 loss to Central Michigan, was paced by Darion Anderson with 13 points. He was the only Huskie in double figures.

Miami, pushing the lead to 34 points late in the second half before cruising home, moved its MAC record to 4-2 (11-7 overall) as it successfully kicked off a six-game run against MAC West Division teams. The RedHawks travel to Ypsilanti for a game with Eastern Michigan Saturday. The Eagles (3-17, 1-5 MAC) are in the cellar of the MAC West standings.

Northern Illinois (6-12, 2-4 MAC), which has lost four of its last five and seven of nine, is on the road again with a matchup against Bowling Green (10-9, 3-3 MAC).