 MIAMI 70, BUFFALO 67 FLIRTING WITH OT - AGAIN
Both the RedHawks and Bulls entered Thursday’s contest coming off overtime games, and with the scored tied at 65-all in the last minute of regulation, the possibility of another OT loomed. But when a play designed for senior forward Antonio Ballard got derailed, the RedHawks searched for other options and found Winbush open in the corner.
“It felt good,” said Winbush, who drained the shot with 28 seconds left.
“Nick’s shot was big … but it was a nice penetrate and pitch by Quinten Rollins. He just hit him with a pinpoint pass, and it was money after that,” MU forward Julian Mavunga said.
The crucial bucket came on what turned out to be Winbush’s last trip into the offensive zone. He fouled out of the contest with 15 ticks remaining, and Zach Filzen made both free throws to draw the visitors within one point, 68-67.
When Miami got the inbounds pass to Quinten Rollins, he was quickly fouled. The freshman converted both super-bonus free throws at the :13 mark. Buffalo got two chances to tie on a final trip down the court, but Filzen missed both shots from behind the arc.
Miami raised its overall record to 7-9 and ends the first week of conference play with a 2-0 MAC record. Buffalo fell to 8-6 overall, 0-2 MAC.
Three RedHawks made it into double figures, with Mavunga’s 21 points leading the way. Winbush, who missed time with foul trouble and played just 23 minutes, contributed 15 points, as did Ballard.
TOEING THE LINE
Nearly half of Mavunga’s points (10) came at the line, a trend MU head coach Charlie Coles would like to see continue. Overall, Miami made 18-of-23 at the charity stripe. The Bulls sank 12-of-18 at the line.
“We’re outrebounding teams and we’re shooting more free throws than (other) teams now.” Coles said. “We are trying to get it inside. We are trying to drive that ball to the basket.”
Both teams shot well from the field, especially in the first half. Miami hit 14-of-25 (56 percent) while UB made 16-of-28 (57.1 percent).
Miami turned up the “D” in the second half, holding Buffalo to 41.7 percent (10-of-24). Meanwhile, MU made 10-of 20 (50 percent) in the final period.
Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon’s lineup had a big turnover after last season. Among the newcomers is McCrea, who is already putting up some impressive numbers. He entered the game ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage (70.8 percent) and was shooting 82 percent (27-of-33) from the field over his last five games.
FUTURE FACTOR
“That McCrae kid is a freshman. Is that bad news (for opponents) or not,” Miami head coach Charlie Coles said. “He was good, and Reggie said he got one scholarship offer. … Can you believe that?”
“He’s strong,” Winbush said. “He’s pretty good for a freshman. … I think we’re going to try to do a better job on him next time, but he’s a good player.”
Time and again, the 6-6, 245-pound forward ended up with the ball down low. He had four of UB’s five offensive rebounds in the first half and made five-of-seven from the field, accounting for 13 of the Bulls 37 points during the period.
Winbush had an even dozen for Miami, but he also had three fouls before the break and picked up a fourth at the 11:37 mark of the second period.
Miami had a slim 38-37 advantage at halftime and edged out to a 45-41 lead on a slam by Mavunga at 16:51 . McCrae answered for the Bulls with a tip-in and layup off a lob to tie the contest. The freshman contributed 12 of the Bulls first 18 points after intermission.
A McCrae dunk at 12:53 gave Buffalo its first lead, 48-46, since the game’s opening basket. The Bulls enjoyed their
biggest lead of the game – five points – at 8:35 following a steal and dunk by McCrae.
TURNOVERS APLENTY
A steal by Byron Mulkey gave the Bulls a chance to increase the lead, but he returned the favor with a turnover of his own. The two teams combined for 38 turnovers, with Miami getting the dubious distinction of a 20-18 “disadvantage.”
“Hopefully, we can cut some things out as we go along, because that is 20 turnovers in (each of) the last two games,” said Coles, who for the time being is trying to focus on the positives while working out the negatives.
“Every team is different,” Coles continued. “I said let’s give them one thing to do, and that’s play hard, because I don’t know if we can cut out all the mistakes (right away). I don’t think we’ve got that kind of a team. But I do think we’ve got a team that can have a lot of energy and a lot of spirit.”
Orlando Williams’ layup at 7:21 was the first of four ties coming down the stretch. Neither team could get more than a two-point lead until Winbush broke the game’s final tie with his decisive trey to make it 68-65 with 28 seconds left. The two teams traded a pair of free throws to end scoring.
SHOOTING IMPROVES
“That’s the second straight game that Nick has come up with some big shots, and that is good for our team,” Coles said. “Our team has to make some shots, and we’re doing a little bit more of that than what we were earlier in the year.”
After stuggling through one of the nation’s toughest schedules in non-conference play, Coles hopes there will be dividends now that the team is playing MAC opponents. “I’m hoping it gives us a psychological edge when we play. I’m hoping, but I don’t know yet.”
If the early scores are any indication, it’s going to be a very competitive year in the league, especially in the MAC East.
“We’ve just got to keep working and keep getting wins,” Winbush said.
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