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Kenny Hayes starts a drive for a key layup. Below, Antonio Ballard stretches to convert a layup attempt. Photos by Mike Smith.

Senior Kenny Hayes provided the winning basket on a layup in traffic with 22 seconds left.
“I just knew I had to make a play,” Hayes said. “I didn’t see it go in …. I just heard the crowd, so I just figured it dropped or somebody tipped it in.”

Wright State, which beat Miami at the buzzer on its last trip to Oxford, had plenty of time to set up a shot. Miami’s defense, however, stiffened and forced Raiders coach Brad Brownell into calling a time out with four seconds left.

Miami’s defensive switches limited the Raiders options and Vaughn Charlton got off a shot that bounced off the rim before RedHawks senior forward Adam Fletcher pulled in the carom and held on as time expired.

“That last rebound was great,” said Fletcher, who had 13 rebounds and 10 points in the win. “I didn’t realize how much time was left on the clock. It felt like I had the ball in my hands forever there at the end. I was hoping that horn would go off, and once it did, it felt great.”

“It was a little misdirection play …. But they stopped it,” Brownell said of the final Raiders play. “I don’t know if I had to do it over again, if I wouldn’t do something different. I would probably would. I certainly didn’t exactly like the way it turned out,”

“We had some guys in some different spots,” he continued, “Miami put a little pressure on us, and we didn’t execute. It was something we practiced but we didn’t execute. We had two or three options,”

One of the options was Troy Tabler, a 6-3, 185-pound junior guard who scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. He hit four treys (on five attempts) and added three free throws over the final 20 minutes.

It was the second time in the past three games that Tabler has scored over 20 points. He had just three last week against Toledo but scored 24 in a Raiders win over Youngstown State Dec. 5. “The shot felt good,” Tabler said after Sunday’s game. “If I feel open, I’ll shoot it.”

“You just give that dude a split second, and he can shoot,” Hayes said. “Tabler was near the ‘M’ (at mid-court once), and I went out there and contested, and he hit it.”

“Tabler was just brilliant. He stole the show tonight,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said.

A Tabler lay-up at 9:03 of the first half tied the game at 12-all, and Corry Cooperwood followed with a jumper 40 seconds later to give Wright State the lead. After falling behind by seven points, Miami fought back and trailed 28-26 with a chance to tie in the final minute before intermission.

Darian Cartharn, however came up with a steal and layup. The Raiders then made it a seven point lead when Cooper Land followed up a Miami turnover by hitting a trey with three seconds remaining.

“We were very fortunate at half to be up 33-26,” Brownell said. “Really, it was just a couple bad plays by Miami in the last 20 seconds of the half or it’s a one-point game …. It was hard for either team to get away by more than a few points.”

“I could have wrecked the whole locker room – mentally – with what we did (at the end of the half),” Coles said, adding that he ultimately decided to make only a passing reference to the miscues. “I didn’t risk going off …, and I’m glad I didn’t make a big deal of it,” he said.

“Wright State outscored Miami 19-5 in points off turnovers in the first half and also had advantages in: second chance points (10-2), fast break points (6-0) and points in the paint (14-8).

Miami closed to within one on a Winbush trey at 13:52, but Tabler’s hot shooting hand allowed Wright State to build up a seven-point lead.

A Rodney Haddix II free throw at 8:13 again drew Miami within one at 46-45, but Tabler scored six quick points. First he was fouled on a three-point shot and made all three free throws. After a Miami miss, Tabler hit a trey.

Miami (3-7) finally caught the visitors with a 7-0 run to knot the score at 52-all before Cooperwood connected on a three-point goal at 3:49.  Only two more baskets were scored the rest of the way. Ballard tallied on a layup at 3:19 and Hayes hit his game-winner with 22 seconds left.

“We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game. It was physical. It hurt that we didn’t get to the free throw line in the second half, so now you’re required to make shots all the time,” Brownell said.

Despite Tabler’s outstanding shooting, Wright State dipped to 33.3 percent from the field in the second half. Tabler’s three free throws were the only points from the line for Wright State after intermission.

“We got a little tired late in the game.” Brownell said. “We might have been a little out-toughed at the end – one or two stops …. They just played a little better than us, especially in the second half.”

Miami connected on 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) from the field in the second half and made 48.7 percent of its shots for the game. The RedHawksalso  benefited from 12 points (on 18 tries) from the free throw line. Wright State made all eight of its charity tosses.

“I went to bed last night thinking we’ve got to go to the line,” Coles said.

Ballard, who led Miami with 12 points, picked up five at the free throw line. Others RedHawks in double figures were Hayes (11) and Fletcher with 10.

“I thought our defense was pretty good,” Brownell said. “Our plan was to do a really good job on Hayes and Winbush. We knew Ballard was a tough kid and a good player, but we were going to give him a little more space, and he made some good plays.”

The Wright State coach also credited Fletcher. He “is a guy who has been through the wars, and his double-double tonight was significant,” Brownell said.

In addition to Tabler’s 23-point performance, Wright State also got 13 points from Vaughn Duggins. Todd Brown, who came in averaging 16.8 ppg., was held to two points on 1 for 10 shooting. Ballard checked the 6-5, 210-pound senior guard much of the way.

The double figure scoring “was all well and good, but I feel more proud of myself for the defensive effort,” Ballard said.

Both coaches indicated the game went much as expected – a grueling, physical defensive struggle in which neither team would be able to pull away.

“I thought kids on both sides put forth tremendous effort, and when the buzzer sounded, they were one point ahead this time…. A couple times we’ve been on the other side of just one point. This time they are,” Brownell said.

The win broke a three-game losing streak for Miami, which fell to Dayton, Temple and Cincinnati during the stretch. The RedHawks next game is Dec. 19 at Milwaukee (7-4) of the Horizon League.

Wright State fell to 6-3 with the loss, which ended a three-game winning streak. The Raiders two previous losses were to Washington and Northeastern. Wright State will face Mississippi State Wednesday, Dec. 16.