Sunday, February 28, 1999
MIAMI NOTEBOOK
Injury doesn't slow Szczerbiak
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD — Wally Szczerbiak had 25 points and nine rebounds Saturday in a 69-43 victory over Ball State in the first round of the MAC tournament.
Szczerbiak played with a slightly dislocated right kneecap, which he injured in practice Friday.
After the game someone asked Miami coach Charlie Coles if Szczerbiak's knee was OK. He took a look at the stat sheet and said: “Yeah.”
“Honestly in the walk-through (Saturday) morning, it really bothered me a lot,” Szczerbiak said. “I couldn't run very well. But when I saw the crowd, I got going. It affected me on long shots. That's why I moved in.”
Szczerbiak expects the knee to be fine for Tuesday's MAC semifinal game with Bowling Green.
NCAA bid locked?
With its RPI in the mid-20s and its win total at 21, Miami would appear to be in NCAA Tournament.
“I would like to think so,” said Szczerbiak, “but we'd like to finish this run in the MAC Tournament. This is do-or-die. That's how we look at it, and that's how we're going to play.”
Ball State coach Ray McCallum said Miami is an NCAA team:
“I think they're in. With their experience and a great player like Szczerbiak, they can have success.”
Big Mike
Mike Ensminger, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Oak Hills High, had one rebound and two fouls in 11 minutes Saturday, but Coles called Ensminger's play the key to the game.
“He turned it around for us,” Coles said. “They were getting the ball inside pretty easy. When Mike came in, all that stopped.”
“We needed big Mike,” Szczerbiak said. “I think that shaved head keeps him from getting some calls, but he's intense.”
Good draw
The crowd of 8,436 lifted Miami's home attendance to 76,817 for the year. That's an average of 6,401, breaking the old mark of 6,251, set Ron Harper's senior year.
Moving up
Damon Frierson's seven steals put him at 169 for his career, two behind Jamie Mahaffey and Derrick Cross, who are tied for second on Miami's all-time list.
Harper and Chuck Goodyear share the all-time mark with 287.
Estick scores
John Estick turned in his second straight solid game. The senior had 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added eight rebounds. That follows an 11-point, six-rebound game against Kent.
“He's a big difference for them,” said McCallum. “He's seems to be the only post-up player other than Wally (Szczerbiak) and (Damon) Frierson that they have confidence in.”
Up next
Miami plays Bowling Green at 6:30p.m. Tuesday in the MAC semis at Toledo.
BG, the fifth seed, won 80-74 in OT at fourth-seed Akron to advance. Miami split with BG (18-9) this year, winning at Millett 83-72 Jan.28 and losing at BG Feb.20 69-58.
Defense thrills Miami's Coles Tim Sullivan column
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