Thursday, March 01, 2001
Miami 76, Ohio U. 72
RedHawks withstand late Bobcats rally
By Ryan Waldheger
Enquirer contributor
Jason Grunkemeyer.
(Craig Ruttle photos)
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OXFORD — Jason Grunkemeyer has had quite a journey through five years of the Miami-Ohio U. rivalry.
He played a season for the Bobcats, transferred to Miami and has endured Ohio's recent three-game winning streak against the RedHawks.
Appropriate then that Grunkemeyer could be standing on the line in the closing seconds of his final regular season game at Millett Hall with the chance to finish off the Bobcats.
The RedHawks veteran guard didn't flinch.
Grunkemeyer hit four straight free throws in the final eight seconds of the game, and the RedHawks prevailed, 76-72.
“I was really trying to get the ball at the end,” Grunkemeyer said. “If somebody was going to miss those shots at the end, I would have just assumed it had been me because I want to be the guy taking them. I was able to put them in and it worked out well.”
Juby Johnson.
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Grunkemeyer's clutch shooting was necessary after the Bobcats clawed back into a game the RedHawks had failed to put away. Miami's lead had grown to 17 points following a Juby Johnson jump shot with 12:45 to play.
But back came the Bobcats. Led by Jon Sanderson's 11 second-half points, Ohio climbed to within two, following Brandon Hunter's 3-pointer with 10 seconds to play.
Grunkemeyer's clutch shooting allowed the RedHawks to sidestep the Ohio charge at the end, but the Bobcats effort didn't go unnoticed. “OU played probably as intense a second half as any team I've ever coached against,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said.
Miami (14-14, 10-7) moved into seventh place overall in the Mid-American Conference standings, with Saturday's game at Bowling Green remaining.
Coles said that coming off the Buffalo loss last weekend, this was one Miami had to have.
“I can't remember ever being as concerned about a game in my coaching career,” Coles said.
Coles said his players rebounded exceptionally well from the disappointment, and had a great week of practice.
Playing in front of an enthusiastic Millett Hall crowd, Miami came out strong.
Ohio coach Larry Hunter was impressed. “Miami was terrific defensively in the first half,” he said. “They really didn't give us much of an opportunity to get into a flow. Miami was just too good today.”
In a game featuring two of the Mid-American Conferences premier big men, Miami's Alex Shorts outdid the Bobcats' Brandon Hunter.
Shorts scored the RedHawks' first six points and finished with 20, making seven of nine shots from the field and all six of his free throws.
Hunter, the former Withrow star, had 21 points but was just 4-of-12 from the field.
“I thought Mike Ensminger did a really good job on Hunter,” coach Larry Hunter said.
Miami outscored the Bobcats 20-7 in the final 11:57 of the first half to take a 29-17 lead into the break.
OHIO (72)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Sanderson 27 4-9 1-2 0-4 1 5 11
Hunter 36 4-12 12-18 5-9 4 2 21
Flomo 19 3-6 1-2 2-4 0 2 7
Jones 36 7-14 3-6 1-2 1 4 17
Esterkamp 23 1-5 2-2 0-0 1 5 5
Ford 36 2-6 0-1 1-2 1 3 6
Crawford 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Harris 1 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 2
Stephens 12 1-3 0-0 0-2 0 2 3
Mcvicker 9 0-0 0-0 1-4 0 1 0
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TOTALS 200 23-57 19-31 10-27 8 27 72
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Percentages: FG-.404, FT-.613. 3-Point Goals:
7-22, .318 (Sanderson 2-5, Hunter 1-2, Jones 0-3,
Esterkamp 1-4, Ford 2-4, Harris 0-1, Stephens
1-3). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 3 (Flomo
2, Crawford). Turnovers: 5 (Hunter 2, Sanderson
2, Mcvicker). Steals: 11 (Ford 4, Sanderson 3,
Flomo, Harris, Hunter, Jones).
MIAMI (76)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Seals 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Shorts 23 7-9 6-6 3-8 1 4 20
Ensminger 39 3-5 0-2 1-4 4 3 6
Johnson 38 6-9 2-7 0-7 1 2 15
Davis 35 6-13 2-3 0-4 3 5 16
Jameson 16 1-1 1-2 0-1 4 4 3
Grunkemeyer 26 2-7 7-9 0-3 0 4 12
Allendorf 18 2-4 0-0 4-7 0 2 4
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TOTALS 200 27-48 18-29 8-34 13 25 76
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Percentages: FG-.563, FT-.621. 3-Point Goals:
4-9, .444 (Johnson 1-3, Davis 2-4, Grunkemeyer
1-2). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: None.
Turnovers: 13 (Davis 4, Ensminger 4, Jameson 2,
Allendorf, Grunkemeyer, Shorts). Steals: 3 (Davis
3).
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Ohio 17 55 - 72
Miami 29 47 - 76
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Technical fouls: Ohio 1 (Hunter). Miami Ohio 1
(Shorts). A: 5,655. Officials: Steven Skiles,
Dan Fouser, Terry Davis.
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Miami 76, Ohio U. 72