Sunday, December 03, 2000
Miami 56, Wis.-Green Bay 42
RedHawks avoid letdown
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD — So much for a letdown. Miami University followed its upset of No.17 Temple with a 56-42 victory over Wisconsin-Green Bay Saturday night before 3,280 at Millett Hall.
“Anyone can get up for Temple,” Miami senior Mike Ensminger said. “They're No.17 in the country and there were 8,500 people in the building. We had to come out and play the same kind of game. If you lose to Green Bay, it takes away the Temple win. So this was a huge game.”
Coach Charlie Coles said former Miami coaches Darrell Hedric, Dick Shrider and Tates Locke all warned him.
“Coach Shrider said Friday, "You got a job to do,'” Coles said. "You got to get 'em back up.' That's true. There's only so much left. That's why you see so many swings. I thought the kids handled it well.”
Point guard Doug Davis, the transfer from Michigan State, scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead Miami. He was 7-for-7 from the line; he's made all 15 free throws he's attempted this year.
Miami survived a 3-for-15 shooting night from leading scorer Jason Grunkemeyer. Eleven players scored for Miami. Davis, a 6-foot-3 junior, was the only one to hit double figures.
The victory over UWGB evens Miami's record at 3-3 and extends the RedHawks' streak of victories over non-conference opponents at home to 20 games, dating back to the 1993-94 season.
“I'm happy with our progress,” Coles said. “Green Bay's a decent team. To get a win over them is great. We'll take a victory, with no buts to it.”
Miami's schedule doesn't get any easier. The RedHawks face teams that were ranked the next two times out: Rival Dayton at home Wednesday, then Notre Dame in South Bend Saturday.
Miami controlled Green Bay from the start. After a Green Bay rally cut the lead to two at 12-10, Miami's defense took over. The RedHawks held UWGB without a field goal for nearly eight minutes.
That enabled Miami to go on a 12-0 run. Larry Drake capped the spurt with a high-arching jumper that put MU up 24-10 with 3:26 left.
The lead was still 12, at 27-15, at halftime.
Miami's defense was the reason for it. The Phoenix play the patient style that former coach Dick Bennett brought to the school. Their problem was Miami's defense would not give in and allow easy shots. The Phoenix hit only 6-of-21 (28.5 percent) in the half.
“They make you play their style,” Ensminger said. “They do it to whoever they play. It turns it into a scratch-and-claw game. I think the little things gave us the edge tonight.”
Miami struggled to start the second half, missing its first three shots and committing two turnovers in its first five possessions. UWGB took advantage, briefly getting the deficit to single digits at 27-19.
The RedHawks rediscovered their rhythm offensively and pushed the lead to 15. Given UWGB's style, it was over.
Miami also did a good job of taking away the 3. UWGB only hit 1-of-13 attempts (7.7 percent). Miami was only 2-of-13 (15.4 percent), but the RedHawks were much more effective inside.
“Their big guys got key baskets when we made runs,” UWGB coach Mike Heideman said.
Coles substituted freely in last 10 minutes. One play had to please Miami fans.
Julius Johnson tipped a rebound to Eugene Seals, who laid it in. Johnson and Seals are the stars of the recruiting class. Coles is trying to get them to play effectively together.
“Our biggest concern is contributions,” Coles said. “Grunkemeyer is going to be effective when he's rested. We've got to find guys to come in and give him a breather.
Miami Notebook
WIS-GREEN BAY (42)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Kraft 29 2-4 2-4 0-7 3 2 7
Sager 24 2-6 0-0 0-2 1 1 4
Jessup 32 2-9 0-2 1-2 0 4 4
Babcock 14 0-0 1-2 2-3 0 0 1
King 27 6-9 4-5 1-4 0 3 16
Mueller 18 2-5 0-0 1-3 2 1 4
Blanks 21 0-5 0-0 0-1 1 3 0
Scheidt 5 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Evans 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Collins 19 3-5 0-2 2-4 1 3 6
Hughes 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Shaw 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 17-45 7-15 7-27 8 19 42
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.378, FT-.467. 3-Point Goals:
1-13, .077 (Kraft 1-2, Sager 0-1, Jessup 0-1,
Mueller 0-3, Blanks 0-5, Evans 0-1). Team
rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 2 (King, Collins).
Turnovers: 11 (Babcock 3, Kraft 3, Sager 2,
Collins, Jessup, King). Steals: 5 (Babcock,
Blanks, Jessup, Kraft, Sager).
MIAMI (56)
fg ft ¹”5
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Shorts 20 1-6 1-1 0-5 0 3 3
Johnson 18 1-3 2-3 1-2 1 0 4
Ensminger 32 2-3 0-0 3-6 1 3 4
Davis 37 4-9 7-7 1-5 1 1 16
Grunkemeyer 28 3-15 2-3 3-7 2 2 9
Jameson 12 0-2 2-2 1-1 0 4 2
Drake 18 2-3 0-0 0-1 1 1 4
Williams 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Helmers 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
Reed 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Edwards 5 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2
Seals 10 2-3 0-1 0-1 0 2 4
Allendorf 12 3-3 0-0 2-4 1 0 6
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 20-50 14-17 11-33 7 17 56
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.400, FT-.824. 3-Point Goals:
2-13, .154 (Johnson 0-1, Davis 1-4, Grunkemeyer
1-6, Jameson 0-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked
shots: 3 (Ensminger, Davis, Seals). Turnovers: 8
(Davis 2, Ensminger 2, Grunkemeyer 2, Jameson,
Shorts). Steals: 4 (Shorts 2, Grunkemeyer,
Jameson).
__________________________________
Wisc Green Bay 15 27 - 42
Miami 27 29 - 56
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 3,280. Officials: Tim
Fogarty, Mike Foote.
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