Miami's Allen Roberts drives into the lane for a shot. Robbie Harman, below, had nine points for the Chippewas. Photos by Mike Smith.
OXFORD, OH – Two months ago, Miami fans had plenty of reason to worry about the RedHawks defense. If Thursday night’s Miami-Central Michigan game is any indicator, that trademark Miami “D” may be coming back. The hosts limited Central Michigan to one player in double figures Thursday while posting a 64-51 win at Millett Hall.
"In the beginning of the year, we were terrible. We were giving up 70 (points) per game easy - to everyone," Miami guard Kenny Hayes said. "We knew it would take time (to improve), because we had a young team. It took time for them to understand how every possession on defense is important for us, and I think they are coming along."
"It was probably our best game to date in terms of league play," MU coach Charlie Coles said of the win over Central Michigan. "I thought our defense was outstanding (and we were) very selective on offense .... Boy, I hope I can get some more like that."
The RedHawks came into the game hoping to keep CMU senior guards Robbie Harman and Jordan Bitzer from wrecking havoc – especially behind the arc. The duo ranked 1-2 (all games), respectively, among MAC shooters in 3-point field goals made, and Bitzer was the MAC West Player of the Week last week when he averaged 22.5 points per contest.
Bitzer managed a team-high 10 points against the RedHawks, but made just 2-of-8 treys and 3-of-11 attempts from the floor overall. Harmon, meanwhile, made 3-of-8 from beyond the arc while connecting on 3 of-12 field goal attempts.
""Because we were taking different guys in and out and using a little bit more substitution, we had different guys draw those assignments on Bitzer and Harman," Coles said. "They all did a good job."
Coles, who recently became the all-time MAC coaching wins leader, indicated one way to defend good shooters is to make them run – a lot. Using different defenders on Bitzer and Harmon may have facilitated that philosophy, but Coles had another reason to tap his bench a little more Thursday.
Both Central Michigan (9-9, 4-2 MAC) and Miami (7-13, 4-3 MAC) played Saturday. But while the Chippewas were off, Miami traveled to Muncie for a game with Ball State Tuesday. That contest, as luck would have it, turned into a double overtime game.
"I subbed (more) tonight because of the game on Tuesday," Coles said. "I turns out it may be a good thing for Saturday, too, (but) I did it because I thought the Ball State game was extra tough."
Senior guard Kenny Hayes, who leads the MAC in average minutes played (38.5 mpg), logged 46 minutes against BSU, scoring nine points while hitting 4-of-14 shots from the field. "I was so disappointed in myself, because I just felt I let my team down," Hayes said.
With sophomore Kramer Soderberg coming in for 11 minutes Thursday, Hayes was on the floor for a relatively paltry 29 minutes and scored a game high 20 points. He was 6-of-10 from the field, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc and a perfect 6-of-6 at the line.
"At times when they take me out of the game, I (can) look at the game and see how the pace is going," Hayes said. "I think that kind of helped today. I got a lot of rest today. Kramer gave us some good minutes. I kind of read their defense a little bit - what they were giving up."
"I'd like to see Kramer play 10 minutes a night," Coles said, adding, "He hit an outside shot tonight, so hopefully that will do something for his confidence."
Another player who came off the bench for MU seems to be rediscovering his shot. Nick Winbush tallied 13 points to reach double figures for the third consecutive game. The 6-7 junior forward was 3-for-4 from the field, including 1-of-2 from behind the arc.
"I felt like everything for me tonight started on the defensive end," Winbush said. "When our team plays good defense, offense just comes from that."
A pair of free throws by Winbush at 8:12 broke a 12-all tie, and he added a trey to give
the RedHawks their biggest lead of the half at 18-12.
Western Michigan trimmed the halftime margin to 23-20 following a Bitzer bucket with 37 seconds remaining.
Miami, which grabbed a rare halftime lead before falling at Ball State, made 38.1 percent of its field shots in the first 20 minutes while holding the Chippewas to 29.2 percent.
Things only got worse for the visitors in the second half. Although both teams had 12 field goals, MU connected on 54.5 percent of its shots to Central's 44.4 percent. The RedHawks made two more 3-point shots and converted 15-of-17 free throws. CMU made 3-of-7 from the line after intermission.
"Other than the Ball State game, we've been shooting more free throws than our opponent, which is phenomenal for us. I think that is because our inside presence is more," Coles said.
Western Michigan took its final lead of the game on a Bitzer 3-pointer at 13:35. However, a pair of free throws by freshman Allen Roberts, who recently moved into the starting lineup, gave the RedHawks a lead they would not relinquish.
Despite getting a season-low one point from sophomore forward Julian Mavunga, Miami pulled away and maintained a double-digit lead from the 2:56 mark until the final horn.
"It was a really big win, especially coming off that double overtime loss to Ball State," Winbush said. "In MAC play, you have to forget about the last game, and we came out tonight with one day of practice and knew they were 4-1 on their side of the MAC and knew they were going to be a tough team with Bitzer and Harman."
Miami plays its third game in five days as it hosts Eastern Michigan Saturday (noon).
Central Michigan which dropped into a MAC West first place tie with Northern Illinois, remains on the road as it travels to Bowling Green (7 p.m.).
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