 MIAMI 68, TOLEDO 66 Mavunga turned guard Allen Roberts’ missed shot into a tie-breaking score with four seconds left. Toledo’s Jay Shunnar got off a trey attempt at the buzzer, but it wouldn’t fall.
Miami, which used a late shot to garner a road win at Eastern Michigan one week earlier, posted a season-high fourth straight win. That raised the RedHawks to 13-12 overall, 9-3 MAC. With road losses by Bowling Green and Buffalo Saturday, MU is now alone in second place - one half game behind its next opponent, Kent State.
GRIFFIN PACES ROCKETS
Guard Malcolm Griffin hit 9-of-14 from the field on the way to a game-high 20 points to lead a spirited Toledo, which fell to 4-21 overall and 1-10 in MAC play.
“That guy Griffin is not just good … he is very good,” said Miami head coach Charlie Coles, who was expecting a tough night. “I knew going into the game that it was a bad matchup.”
The visitors edged out to the game’s biggest lead in the first half, holding a nine-point advantage (19-10) following a Nick Winbush fastbreak dunk at 11:49. Mavunga, however, had picked up his second foul moments earlier, and Toledo began to whittle away at the lead. A series of MU turnovers also aided the Rockets, who tied the score at 21-all when Wright hit a trey at 7:38.
Winbush, who led the RedHawks with 16 points, hit one of his four three-pointers on the night at 4:09 to give his team a five-point advantage, but the Rockets knocked the lead down to one (30-29) at the break.
Miami turned to Mavunga early in the second half. He scored on a 3-point play just 14 seconds into the period and added a pair of free throws at 15:21 to put MU up 39-33. However, he picked up two more fouls and went to the bench at the 11:46 mark.
DRAINING THREES
Toledo, meanwhile, found a hot-hand in Justin Anyijong. Following a 33-all tie, the 6-9 senior with a sweet outside shot scored 15 of Toledo’s next 21 points. He connected on 3-of-4 treys along the way, and his final triple gave the hosts a 54-53 lead.
Toledo had momentum and pushed its advantage to seven points, 66-59, following a Reese Holliday layup at 3:07. But the RedHawks weren’t done, and Toledo was. Holiday’s basket turned out to be UT’s final points of the night.
“We weren’t very good defensively until the last four minutes of the game,” Coles said.
Winbush hit a trey and Allen Roberts added a layup at 2:16 to draw Miami within two. After Holliday missed both ends of a free throw opportunity at 1:16, Roberts tied the contest with another drive to the rack.
BIG TURNOVER
Toledo took a time out with 41 seconds left, but any strategies went by the wayside when Orlando Williams came up with a steal. With 32 seconds remaining, Miami had an opportunity to play for the last shot. Roberts took a shot with seven seconds left, but it missed. Mavunga, who had managed to hang around with four fouls, grabbed the carom and put it back in for the game winner.
“I thought their game plan was splendid,” Coles said of the Rockets, who hit 63.6 percent of their field goals in the second half, including 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) of their treys. Overall, the Rockets made 25-of 48 (52.1 percent) from the field. UT had an amazing 22 assists on 25 field goals.
Joining Griffin (20) in double figures were Anyijong (15) and Holliday (14).
Hitting double figures for the visiting RedHawks were Winbush (16), Roberts (14), Mavunga (13) and freshman Josh Sewell, who chipped in 10 points at some key junctures, according to Coles. “He had a basket every time we had nothing going,” Coles said.
UP NEXT
Toledo heads to Ball State (14-10, 6-5 MAC), which has lost six of its last seven contests, for a game Tuesday (7 p.m.) at Worthen Arena.
Miami return home to host the MAC East leader Kent State (7 p.m., Wednesday). MU and KSU were the only MAC East squads to win Saturday during the final weekend of interdivisional play.
“I think our guys … are ready to have a big game and see where we are at,” said Coles, who leads a revamped team following injuries to starters Antonio Ballard (season-ending) and freshman Quinten Rollins (indefinite). The Golden Flashes defeated Miami handily (78-57) Jan. 23 in Kent.
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