by The Miami of Ohio RedHawks shot 11 of 30 from beyond the three point arc to secure a close and exciting 72-64 victory over Kent State to advance to the MAC Tournament Championship Saturday night versus top seeded Akron.
The RedHawks were led in scoring by Peter Suder with 23 points while Kam Craft went 5 of 9 from long range, securing 27 points. For Craft, 3 of those 5 three pointers came late in the game to help the RedHawks keep the Golden Flashes at bay to secure the win. Also scoring for the RedHawks was Elan Elmer with 10 while Reece Potter and Antwone Woolfolk each had 6. Rounding things out for the RedHawks was Evan Losaro and Brant Byers with 5 each while Smith finished with 4.
The Golden Flashes were led by Jalen Sullinger with 29 points and 5 rebounds while Marquis Barnett finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds. The Golden Flashes were outrebounded 42-39 and out blocked 4-1. In a game that featured 19 lead changes, the little things would go a long way.
The entire first half was nip and tuck as the teams went back and forth the entire time with neither getting much of an edge. The largest lead was four by the RedHawks, and the score at the break was 33-32 with the Golden Flashes up by the slimmest of margins. Both teams drained 5 from beyond the arc but it was the RedHawks shooting 19 of them as that seemed to be their first option almost every time in the half-court offense.
Both teams picked up where they left off to start the second half, firing away from deep, and within the first four minutes, they both scored heavily as the game was tied at 41 with 16 minutes to go. It remained close as it was 47 – 47 with 11:53 to play.
With 6 minutes to play, it was 58-58 as the biggest lead either team had at that point was Miami with 6 and Kent with 4, it was that close. Overall, the Red Hawks had led for the majority of the game, but it was still never anything close enough to be comfortable.
Coming out of a timeout with 3:24 to go, it was stilled tied at 60 when Kam Craft nailed a three pointer to break the tie in favor of the RedHawks. They built the lead to 65-61 from there with 2:15 to play. Once again Sullinger and the Golden Flashes battled back to cut it to 65-64 with 90 seconds to play in regulation. Out of the time out, it was Craft yet again, rolling off the pick and hitting the corner three to extend the lead to 68-64. The RedHawks hung on for the 72-64 victory as they finished the game on a 7-0 run.
