Emily Simanskis, The Miami Student
The Miami University men's basketball team matched Fort Wayne's scoring in the second half of its Saturday game in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but a lackluster first half led to the RedHawks losing 87-71.
The loss drops Miami to 4-4 overall and 0-2 away. Fort Wayne improves to 7-2 overall and a perfect 6-0 at home.
Freshman forward Marcus Weathers and junior forward Logan McLane led the RedHawks with 13 points apiece, with freshman guard Michael Weathers tallying 12 and redshirt sophomore guard Jake Wright chipping in 10. The players' contributions, though, were not enough to overcome a 16-point deficit the team accumulated in the first half.
The 'Hawks' first basket came three minutes into the game, when the Mastodons of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) had already made three. After IPFW extended its lead to double digits, McLane fought back and helped narrow the deficit to four. The Mastodons then responded halfway through the first half, taking back the double-digit lead.
The first half was marred with 11 turnovers and a lack of offensive production--the RedHawks missed eight of nine attempted three-point shots and made only 36 percent of their attempted shots.
In contrast, IPFW made 50 percent of its three-point shots and 42 percent of its shots. The Mastodons also played a discipline game in the first half, allowing Miami only three free-throw opportunities, whereas the Mastodons capitalized on nine of their 12 free throw opportunities.
This culminated in Miami ending the first half down 44-28.
The RedHawks didn't lead once for the entire game, though they matched the Mastodons in scoring 43-43 in the second half. Miami's second half also saw more offensive production and minimized its turnovers to two.
Marcus Weathers showed his increasing comfort on the court and had 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Freshman forward Bruno Solomon played a season-high 16 minutes and had six points.
IPFW redshirt junior guard Bryson Scott had an impressive 24 points, senior guard Mo Evans had 23 and redshirt sophomore guard John Konchar had a double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and made six of his attempted seven free throws. The IPFW offense simply outplayed Miami's.
Today, the RedHawks look to bounce back against the Mizzou Tigers in Columbia, Missouri at 8 pm.
The University of Missouri Tigers of the Southeastern Conference are 4-3 overall and 3-1 at home. They're coming off a win against Western Kentucky and will primarily look to freshman guard Frankie Hughes for offensive production. Hughes has a team-high 99 points on the season.
Miami has never faced Mizzou before and looks to pick up its first road win of the season.
The RedHawks will also look to twin brothers freshman Marcus Weathers, who is increasingly playing more minutes, and Michael Weathers, who has faltered recently offensively, to lead the team to more offensive production.