Brown, Lairy lead Miami (OH) past Evansville 70-67

Dec 30, 2018, 11:28 pm

OXFORD, Ohio -- Sophomore Dalonte Brown and freshman Mekhi Lairy combined to score 30 points and Miami (Ohio) held off Evansville 70-67 on Sunday.

Bam Bowman finished with eight points and a career-high 13 rebounds, including a career-best seven off the offensive glass, to help Miami end a four-game slide in a series Evansville leads 11-5.

The RedHawks (8-5) shot just 38 percent from the field (24 of 63) and 6 of 23 from 3-point range (26 percent). Miami owned the boards by a 44-30 margin that included a 17-3 advantage on the offensive end that allowed the RedHawks to get off 14 more shots.

Shea Feehan sank two 3-pointers in the final 5:20 of the first half to help the Purple Aces (6-7) take a 35-31 lead at intermission. Miami didn't lead after the 14:15 mark of first half until Bowman hit two free throws with 13:51 remaining in the game for a 43-42 lead. Lairy's jumper gave Miami a 66-64 lead with 3:04 to go, but the RedHawks didn't wrap up the win until Bowman scored on a rebound basket with less than a minute to play and K.J. Riley missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Riley topped the Purple Aces with 20 points. He made 6 of 12 shots from the floor, but just 8 of 13 at the foul line. Feehan scored 16.