Lukas Nelson is starting his first full year as the sports editor for The Miami Student. Lukas wrote his first article for TMS as a freshman and became the beat writer for Miami’s women’s basketball team as a sophomore before he became the sports editor. A junior journalism and sports leadership and management double major, his dream job is writing about basketball at any level. While covering games is his favorite part of being a journalist, he also enjoys writing human interest stories. Lukas is from Brewster, Ohio, and is a long-suffering Browns/Cavs/Indians fan. His email is nelso156@miamioh.edu.
Last week, the Miami men’s basketball team played three games in five days, going 2-1 during its recent stretch. All three games were a perfect microcosm of how the RedHawks have played this season.
Coming out of the timeout, Hoff inbounded the ball to Scott. The Flashes overplayed her and went for the steal, which left her wide open. She took two dribbles and pulled up for a 3-pointer at the top of the key. Swish.
In “The Andy Griffith Show,” there’s a town called Mayberry, N.C., which is the main setting of the show. Mayberry is a sleepy town, with just 5,000 people, one traffic light and not much else. The inspiration for Mayberry came from a town in North Carolina called Mount Airy. For volleyball head coach Carolyn Condit, however, the town may as well have been based on another sleepy town called Oxford, Ohio.
On Friday, the RedHawks led by as many as five points in the second half before losing to the Akron Zips, 83-76. This Tuesday, the RedHawks will travel to take on the only team ahead of Akron in the standings, the Toledo Rockets. The Rockets are 16-6 this season, with an 11-3 MAC record. After coming close to beating a top-tier MAC team last Friday, the ’Hawks will get another shot this Tuesday.
After a hard-fought game Saturday afternoon, Miami head coach DeUnna Hendrix didn’t hold back how much the loss hurt for her players. “I wish the result was different,” Hendrix said. “My heart literally hurts for them.” Despite a strong effort from her team, the RedHawks lost a close game to the Ball State Cardinals, 79-77.
The Zips had the ball, up 76-74 with a minute and a half remaining. For 29 seconds, the RedHawks did their job. A good defensive effort from senior forward Dalonte Brown made senior guard Loren Cristian Jackson pick up his dribble with just four seconds left on the shot clock. With an 11-inch height difference between the two, Jackson pivoted and pirouetted into a contested three-pointer with Brown all over him.
After a 3-1 start, the Miami women’s volleyball team fell to .500 after losing both contests at Bowling Green this weekend. The team will play its next series at home against Toledo on Thursday, Feb. 11 and Friday, Feb. 12. The games will be at 4 p.m. and 1 p.m, respectively, on ESPN+.
As the final buzzer sounded on a 73-64 Miami win over Western Michigan Wednesday at Millett Hall, sophomore guard Peyton Scott let out a triumphant roar. The sophomore guard finished with 37 points, a new career high, and helped the RedHawks snap a 13-game losing streak.
Miami Volleyball has now won four straight regular season conference titles in the MAC, appearing in the NCAA tournament twice over that span. Simply put, winning is all this team knows. “I’ve had a lot of really fine teams, several strings of four (MAC titles) in a row,” she said. “It’s hard to do that. It’s hard to do five in a row. But I know these kids will strive for it.”
The Miami men's basketball team will get to play a nationally televised game in Millett Hall this season when the Akron Zips come to town on Friday, Feb. 12. The game is at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.