Thursday, February 24, 2000
Marshall 87, Miami 78
BY JEFF CARLTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD — Charlie Coles' prayers went unanswered.
The Miami coach said he would rely on good defense and a higher power to slow down Marshall guard forward Tamar Slay, who entered Wednesday night's game at Millett Hall leading the Mid-American Conference with 20.4 points a game.
But Slay got hot early, scoring 14 points by halftime, and the Thundering Herd rolled to an 87-78 victory.
Miami needed a win to keep alive hope of hosting a first-round game in the MAC Tournament.
“We're not looking at a road game as an impossible task,” forward Jason Stewart said. “If we can play our style, we'll be all right.”
Marshall was the team in control of the game's style Wednesday. The Thundering Herd raced to a quick start that played to their strength; the Herd lead the conference in scoring. The RedHawks struggled with the Herd's full-court press all game, often relying on 6-foot-6, 250-pound center Mike Ensminger to bring the ball past mid-court.
“One of our goals was to control the tempo,” Ensminger said. “They came out bombing 3s, and it looked like we weren't playing any defense.”
Stewart's shooting kept Miami in the game in the first half. His three 3-pointers and 13 points helped make it a seven-point game at the break.
The RedHawks tied it at 46 early in the second half while Slay sat on the sidelines for about four minutes. Marshall coach Greg White benched his star forward because of poor defense.
But Joda Burgess picked up where Slay left off, pouring in 14 points.
“When we do play well, there's a point where the other team has been saying, "No more!'” Coles said.
That moment came when Slay re-entered the game. Marshall opened a lead that grew to as many as 13 points.
The Herd shot 60 percent from the field and 56 percent from 3-point range for the game.
Stewart sparked the RedHawks' offense with 30 points. Ensminger finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Miami's nine-year streak of winning seasons is now in jeopardy. The RedHawks need to win Saturday at Buffalo and win the MAC Tournament.
“This is Miami, and this is strange,” Coles said. “I'm taking it hard. No one is scared of us right now.”
Pace helps Stewart equal career high
MARSHALL (87)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Slay 33 5-9 3-4 0-6 2 3 15
D Wright 22 0-0 3-4 2-2 0 3 3
Vanhoose 37 5-8 5-6 1-4 0 2 15
Young 38 7-10 6-7 0-3 1 2 23
Jackson 38 5-9 4-6 1-4 7 1 15
Burgess 14 5-9 0-0 1-3 0 0 14
Wuller 10 1-2 0-0 1-3 0 2 2
Evans 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 28-47 21-27 6-25 10 15 87
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.596, FT-.778. 3-Point Goals:
10-18, .556 (Slay 2-2, Young 3-6, Jackson 1-3,
Burgess 4-7). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 4
(Vanhoose, Jackson, Burgess, Evans). Turnovers: 7
(Evans 2, Burgess, D Wright, Jackson, Vanhoose,
Young). Steals: 4 (Jackson 2, Slay 2).
MIAMI OHIO (78)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Stewart 34 11-25 1-3 1-1 1 4 30
Lethunya 31 3-8 2-2 9-12 0 3 8
Ensminger 32 5-10 0-0 6-13 0 3 10
Mestas 28 2-5 0-0 1-4 6 5 6
Taylor 40 2-10 4-4 3-4 6 2 9
Jameson 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Grunkemeyer 14 3-7 2-2 0-0 0 2 10
Helmers 1 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
Reed 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Edwards 3 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Allendorf 12 2-2 1-3 2-2 0 0 5
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 28-69 10-14 23-38 13 20 78
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.406, FT-.714. 3-Point Goals:
12-30, .400 (Stewart 7-15, Lethunya 0-1, Mestas
2-5, Taylor 1-2, Grunkemeyer 2-6, Reed 0-1). Team
rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: None. Turnovers: 10
(Mestas 4, Stewart 2, Allendorf, Edwards,
Ensminger, Grunkemeyer). Steals: 3 (Allendorf,
Mestas, Stewart).
__________________________________
Marshall 45 42 - 87
Miami Ohio 38 40 - 78
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 3,466. Officials: Dan
Fouser, Mark Masariu, Sam Lickliter.
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