Sunday, December 31, 2000
UNC Wilmington 59, Miami 44
RedHawks take fourth loss in five games
By Carey Hoffman
Enquirer contributor
Wilmington player puts Doug Davis in a headlock.
(Ernest Coleman photos)
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OXFORD — Miami's maddening 59-44 loss to visiting North Carolina-Wilmington Saturday afternoon looked a lot like a recurring dream that has been bugging RedHawks coach Charlie Coles.
Coles sees in his dream a player, with head held high, running back down the floor past the bench. The same player has just made a silly play, a pointless over-the-back foul, at the other end of the floor. “But he just runs,” Coles said.
The player has no idea he has done anything wrong.
With Miami's fourth loss in its past five games coming Saturday, Coles said the dream seems all too real when he looks at his RedHawks.
“Almost every guy on our team doesn't really believe he had anything to do with the outcome,” Coles said. “(They think) "If only I could get the ball; if only I could do this,' and until we realize that as coaches, players, everybody ... I hate to look (ahead) at this winter,” Coles said.
The RedHawks' season — so promising after victories over Temple and Notre Dame — needs a jump start for the new year. Miami is just 4-7 now and probably delivered its worst performance of the year against UNC-Wilmington (5-5).
Alex Shorts lands on Craig Callahan in a scramble for the ball.
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Seniors Jason Grunkemeyer and Mike Ensminger, heroes in those big earlier wins, were held scoreless Saturday. Miami shot a season-low 34.6 percent from the field, the second straight game it has set a new low. And for major chunks of Saturday's game, the RedHawks looked listless and lost.
“I don't know if our effort was there. I think it was for eight or nine minutes, but I don't know if it was for the entire game. I know it wasn't,” Coles said. “We're not getting loose balls; we're not rebounding. We're not doing any of that. I usually have an answer when it comes to motivation. I don't have one right now.”
“We know we can't play like that if we want to be good this year,” said Miami point guard Doug Davis, whose 16 points made him the only bright spot offensively for the RedHawks.
Every answer Coles came up with Saturday seemed to create a hole somewhere else in Miami's lineup.
Starting the game with a new three-guard offense that relied on the team's veteran players didn't work. Miami played decent defense but made only 28 percent of its shots. UNC-Wilmington, which shot just 35 percent itself in the first half, led 28-19 at the break.
The 19 points were the lowest halftime total of the season for the RedHawks.
After UNC-Wilmington opened the second half with a 5-0 burst, Coles turned to his young players. Freshmen forwards Julius Johnson and Eugene Seals put some life into Miami's offense but hurt the RedHawks defensively and put them in position to just trade baskets.
A 5-0 run got Miami within 36-26 with 15:34 to play, but over the next seven min utes, Miami failed to cut the lead to less than nine.
When center Rich Allendorf, who produced consecutive baskets to get Miami within 51-42 with 7:17 to play, was recognized by UNC-Wilmington, the Seahawks went right at him with 6-8 Craig Callahan.
Callahan used a quickness advantage to score six straight points, boosting the lead to 59-42 with 4:38 to play and creating an eerily quiet setting in Millett Hall for the remainder of the game.
The ending was so decisive that Coles began his walk over to shake UNC-Wilmington coach Jerry Wainwright's hand with 10 seconds still to play.
“I think Coach Coles will still have an outstanding team,” Wainwright said.
But the disturbing thing for Miami is that no quick fix seems obvious.
Redhawks near bottom in assists
NC WILMINGTON (59)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Scott 13 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 2 0
Williams 33 4-8 2-2 2-6 1 1 11
Terrell 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Thelmon 33 2-4 0-0 2-6 3 1 6
Blizzard 37 4-10 2-2 0-6 5 2 13
Jarmond 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Burnette 4 0-0 0-2 0-0 1 2 0
Green 8 1-1 0-0 1-3 2 3 2
Hare 29 4-8 2-2 0-1 0 0 12
Callahan 35 5-11 4-4 2-9 0 2 15
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TOTALS 200 20-42 10-12 7-32 12 13 59
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Percentages: FG-.476, FT-.833. 3-Point Goals:
9-14, .643 (Williams 1-2, Thelmon 2-2, Blizzard
3-4, Hare 2-3, Callahan 1-3). Team rebounds: 3.
Blocked shots: 5 (Williams 2, Blizzard, Green,
Hare). Turnovers: 14 (Scott 3, Blizzard 2,
Callahan 2, Hare 2, Williams 2, Burnette,
Terrell, Thelmon). Steals: 6 (Callahan 2,
Williams 2, Blizzard, Thelmon).
MIAMI (44)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Shorts 20 3-11 2-4 3-6 1 2 8
Ensminger 29 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Jameson 18 0-1 0-0 0-2 1 0 0
Grunkemeyer 14 0-3 0-0 0-3 2 3 0
Davis 37 6-11 3-4 0-1 1 4 16
Drake 5 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
Johnson 31 4-11 0-0 2-5 0 2 10
Williams 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Helmers 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Seals 12 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
Reed 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Edwards 5 1-1 0-0 1-3 0 0 2
Allendorf 13 3-5 0-1 1-2 0 0 6
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TOTALS 200 18-52 5-10 8-23 6 13 44
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Percentages: FG-.346, FT-.500. 3-Point Goals:
3-17, .176 (Jameson 0-1, Grunkemeyer 0-1, Davis
1-3, Drake 0-2, Johnson 2-7, Helmers 0-2, Seals
0-1). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 1
(Johnson). Turnovers: 7 (Grunkemeyer 2, Shorts 2,
Davis, Ensminger, Seals). Steals: 7 (Grunkemeyer
2, Allendorf, Drake, Jameson, Seals, Shorts).
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NC Wilmington 28 31 - 59
Miami 19 25 - 44
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Technical fouls: None. A: 2,412. Officials: Mike
Foote, Carl Grinage, Kyle Ingram.
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UNC Wilmington 59, Miami 44