By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

OXFORD - The last thing Juby Johnson wanted to hear about was Miami's surprising 3-point shooting.

"Don't jinx us," the RedHawks' junior guard said Saturday after Miami beat Central Michigan 71-62 before 2,607 fans at Millett Hall.

The RedHawks sank five of their last seven 3-pointers, overcoming a late seven-point deficit in the Mid-American Conference contest.

Miami (4-7) snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 2-0 in MAC play. Central Michigan fell to 7-3 and 0-1.

The RedHawks were 1-for-9 from 3-point range before sophomore forward Tim Schenke sank a trey from the top of the key with 8:48 remaining. That touched off an outburst of 3-pointers by Miami, and Schenke's bomb with 1:14 remaining gave the RedHawks a 65-62 lead.

"On the first one, I realized I wasn't looking at the basket," said Schenke, who doubled his previous career high with 18 points. "Then I heard coach (Charlie) Coles yelling at me to look at the basket. I don't know what was up with their defense."

Said Chippewas coach Jay Smith: "Give them credit. They stepped up and made the shots. They'd been struggling from there."

Johnson, who led all scorers with a season-high 19 points, tied the game 62-62 with a 3-pointer from the corner.

"We were blessed that the 3-pointers went down," Johnson said.

Long shots aren't the first option in Miami's offense, which tries to get the ball inside on every possession.

"We've got to make sure it's not our first option, but if the opportunity comes, we've got to take it," said junior forward Gene Seals, who scored 10 points and started for sophomore Danny Horace, who at times has struggled in the offense.

Schenke also led the defensive effort against 7-foot Chippewas center Chris Kaman, who finished with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds but found himself surrounded almost every time he touched the ball. Kaman had nine of CMU's 20 turnovers.

"He's a challenge," Schenke said. "Knowing your teammates have your back is the biggest thing."

NOTES: Tipoff for Miami's Jan. 18 game at Ohio has been scheduled for 2 p.m. It will be televised on Channel 64. ... The date and time for the RedHawks' game at Ball State have been changed from Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. to Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. It will be televised on Fox Sports Net. ... Coles plans to return Horace to Miami's starting lineup for Wednesday's 7 p.m. game against Kent State at Millett Hall.

C. Michigan	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Brigitha	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
Manciel	23	4	8	0	2	1	0	4	0	9
Kaman	37	5	7	6	8	14	3	4	9	16
Wallace	24	3	8	2	2	3	3	4	2	9
Meerman	34	1	2	0	0	5	3	3	3	3
Robinson	24	2	6	6	6	2	1	3	0	12
Bowne	27	4	7	0	0	3	1	1	2	10
Nelson	6	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	3
Carr	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Hallett	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Dentlinger	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0
Totals	200	20	40	14	18	30	12	24	20	62

Team rebounds - 1.

Miami	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Seals	21	5	8	0	2	3	2	1	1	10
Reed	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	0
Hausfeld	34	3	7	3	5	3	3	1	1	9
Mason	36	3	6	0	0	5	2	2	2	6
Johnson	40	5	9	6	7	2	0	1	0	19
Jameson	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
Drake	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Morningstar	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Schenke	30	5	10	5	9	2	4	4	1	18
Horace	19	1	5	7	8	7	0	1	1	9
Totals	200	22	45	21	31	24	11	15	8	71

Team rebounds - 2.

C. Michigan	35	27	-62
Miami	34	37	-71

3-pointers-CM 8-21 (Manciel 1-3, Wallace 1-4, Meerman 1-2, Robinson 2-6, Bowne 2-4, Nelson 1-1, Carr 0-1), MU 6-16 (Hausfeld 0-3, Johnson 3-5, Schenke 3-6, Horace 0-2). Officials-Masariu, Sauder, Groover. A-2,607.