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OXFORD, OH – More than a few talented freshman basketball players have struggled for playing time – even in a preseason game. Brian Sullivan had no such problem.

In fact, his role in Miami’s exhibition matchup with California University of Pennsylvania was to play the entire 40 minutes.  After catching his “second wind” relatively early in the first half, Sullivan went the distance to help Miami post a 64-61 win over the Vulcans at Millett Hall.

JUST TWO GUARDS AVAILABLE
Sullivan managed 13 points and was one of three RedHawks in double figures, but his presence on the court went beyond his own stat line for the evening. Due to a variety of issues, including injuries and suspensions, MU had just two guards available for duty. Sullivan, who handled the point, joined sophomore Josh Sewell (31 minutes) as the RedHawks ironman guard combination.

“They kind of told me I was going to play 40 minutes, because we’ve got a couple guys down. I knew it,” Sullivan said. “I knew I was going to be tired, but once I caught that second wind, it wasn’t too bad. Once I … relaxed, I think that was the key for me to stay in that long.”

After going scoreless in the first 20 minutes, Sullivan was 3-for-5 from the field after intermission. Two of the buckets were treys as the 5-11 freshman from Upper Arlington, Ohio finished with 13 points.

"I think Brian Sullivan will be a good guard for us this year, as soon as he …(settles down)," Miami head coach Charlie Coles said. "He’s a freshman. Why wouldn’t he be nervous?"

ROLLINS EXPECTED BACK FOR OPENER
Coles hopes to have sophomore Quinten Rollins – among others – back for the RedHawks opener against Dayton  at Millett Hall Dec. 15.

"Quinten Rollins isn’t a better shooter than Brian Sullivan, but right now there is no comparison between the two," Coles said. "Quinten is a great defender, a great athlete. He’s got a year under his belt."

Rollins, who moved into the starting lineup last year, likely would have helped MU against Cal U. However, the scrimmage showed the RedHawks can use the next two weeks for more than healing.

Leading scorer Julian Mavunga, who knows a bit about iron-man basketball himself (36.3 mpg in 2010-11), returns after averaging a team-high 14.8 ppg. last year. He led all scorers Monday with 18 points on 4-of-9 from the field (including 2-of-2 on treys) and 8-of-10 at the line. However, he also had a game-high five turnovers after leading MU in that category the previous campaign.

He also fouled out against Cal U, albeit with just one second left. So did Bill Edwards. The 6-6, 245-pound forward from nearby Middletown originally went to Penn State before deciding to transfer to Miami. He sat out last season per NCAA transfer rules.

Although he played 28 minutes, Edwards attempted just two shots from the field (making one trey) and converted 2-of-8 from the line before fouling out with 27 seconds remaining.

BETTER THAN THAT
“A lot of it is rust. I’ve never really been a terrible foul shooter in my career. … I’m looking to shoot a lot of free throws before the Dayton game,” Edwards said. “It wasn’t pretty, but it was good to get the first one out of the way.”

"We’re all rusty. We didn’t do a good job of executing anything on offense," Coles said. 
 
Even as the RedHawks try to stabilize the backcourt, there is work to be done along the front line. Cal U out-rebounded Miami (which opened with a 6-8, 6-6, 6-9 front line), 36-27. The Vulcans’ total included 12 offensive rebounds. That facilitated an 11-4 advantage in points in the paint and 22-20 Cal U edge in points in the paint.

Throw in a 22-17 Vulcans edge in bench points and it left little for the RedHawks, who did not pull ahead for good until a Sullivan trey at 17:18 of the second half gave MU a 35-33 lead.

While the Vulcans scored more field goals (20-of-52 to Miami’s 18-of-36),  the hosts had three more treys and connected on four more free throws.

The latter “advantage,” however, was not always an advantage. Miami made only 20-of-38 free throws (52.6 percent) for the game while Cal U made 16-of-20 (80 percent) at the line.

MU finally built a double-digit lead in the second half and was still up by 12 after a pair of Sullivan free throws at 1:24. But when Cal U applied an in-bounds press, it generated two Miami turnovers and put RedHawks at the line for six shots. They made two.

“If we hit our free throws, we’re in great shape,” Coles said. “We’ve got to work on that.”

C.J. Townes made a  pair of free throws with one second left to make it a 64-61 final.

COLES PLAYS DENTIST ROLE
“We didn’t play as good as we could have,” Coles said.  “I knew it was going to be like pulling teeth tonight, but we’re going to be okay.”

Coles, the league’s all-time MAC-wins leader, indicated there is plenty of potential – some in new players and some in returners like Josh Sewell and Jon Harris. The latter, a 6-8 sophomore, also reached double figures against Cal U with 11 points in 31 minutes. He hit 4-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-4 from behind the arc.

“When we get going and get in unison with each other, (I think) we can exploit what he does,” Coles said of Harris, adding that Sewell can provide scoring once he finds his “fit” in the offense. “We’ve got to have more scoring out of him, and I think we’ll get it.”

After opening at home against Dayton, Miami hits the road for five straight games, including stops at Xavier and Cincinnati. Four of the next six are at home, but the two road games are at Ohio State and Vanderbilt. Miami’s MAC opener is a home date with Akron Jan. 7.

'I FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHO I'VE GOT' - COLES

“I still like our team if we get those people healthy who are going to play for us. We’re going to be alright. … I feel good about who I’ve got,” Coles said. ” I think we’re going to get better. I think we’re going to be hard workers. We’ve got some guys (who can play).”