2/24/2022

OXFORD, Ohio— The Miami men’s basketball team came up short in a hard-fought game Thursday night at Millett Hall, dropping an 83-69 decision to Central Michigan. Mekhi Lairy had 18 points for the RedHawks (12-16, 6-11 MAC), while Dae Dae Grant added 16. Precious Ayah had a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with nine points for Miami. The Chippewas (7-19, 6-9 MAC) were led by Kevin Miller’s 24 points.


HOW IT HAPPENED

• In a close first half that featured five lead changes, a James Beck three-point play pulled the RedHawks within 24-23 with seven minutes remaining in the period.
• Ayah capped a 10-2 spurt with a three-point play of his own to give Miami its biggest lead of the half at 37-30. The Red and White took a 37-33 advantage to the halftime break.
• A Lairy triple put Miami up 43-36 early in the second half, but CMU took over from there, scoring 13 straight points en route to an extended run.
• Trailing 66-46, Miami tried to put together a comeback with a furious full-court press, but was unable to get back within single digits before time ran out.

NOTES

• Brown moved into the top five in program history for career rebounds; his seven boards tonight give him 812 as a RedHawk.
• Ayah’s previous career high for rebounds was 13 against Ball State in February 2019.
• Lairy had a game-high four steals.
• Lairy and Grant continued to climb the all-time scoring charts, as Lairy moved into a tie for 29th place (1,159 career points) and Grant took over 38th place on the list (1,072 points).

UP NEXT:
Miami travels to Toledo Saturday for a nationally televised game against the Rockets. Tip time is set for 12 p.m. on ESPNU.

COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS