By Cord Rankin

12 22 2024

OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University men’s basketball team took down Sacred Heart 94-76 Sunday afternoon. Reece Potter led the RedHawks (7-4) with a career-high 19 points, while Kam Craft (12), Brant Byers (10) and Eian Elmer (10) added double figures in scoring. Tanner Thomas led the Pioneers (4-8, 1-1 MAAC) with 15 points.

How it Happened:

• Sacred Heart opened the competition with a 5-0 lead before Mekhi Cooper buried a triple from the right corner. Luke Skaljac and Peter Suder knocked down a pair of threes to trail 17-10. Potter made back-to-back layups to shrink Sacred Heart’s advantage to 17-14 with 12:34 remaining in the first half. A flurry of shots from behind the three-point line and a transition layup from Byers put Miami ahead 25-22, forcing a Sacred Heart timeout.
• The Red and White took its first double-digit lead of the day at 35-25 with just over five minutes to go before the intermission. Antwone Woolfolk scored a tip-in basket, and Potter followed this up with a turnaround bank shot to fend off the Pioneers. Skaljac ended the first half of play with a halfcourt shot to send Miami into the break with its first twenty-point lead of the day at 50-30.
• Elmer opened the second half with a shot from beyond the arc, and Cooper recorded a steal where he then took it coast-to-coast for a transition layup. A two-hand dunk from Woolfolk brought the crowd to their feet at 57-32. Craft recorded his third three of the day to keep the RedHawks ahead 64-41.
• Potter stayed in rhythm during the second half, propelling the RedHawks forward with 10 points over five minutes to lead 81-56 with just under eight minutes of action left. The RedHawks did not look back, sealing the victory 94-76.

Game Notes:

• Miami made 17 threes on the day (tied for third all-time in Miami history).
• Byers brought down the most rebounds of his career (seven).
• Potter shot a perfect eight-of-eight from the field.
• The Red and White recorded 49 bench points, the most in a game this season.
• Miami forced 15 or more turnovers for the sixth time this year.
• The RedHawks scored 28 points off turnovers.
• Elmer led all players with four steals and two blocks.

Up Next:
The RedHawks will return to action on Monday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. against Defiance College at Millett Hall.

COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS