By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

OXFORD - Charlie Coles was hugging Danny Horace even before the sophomore forward scored the winning points Saturday.

Horace had just pulled in a defensive rebound with 35 seconds left that helped Miami maintain a two-point lead over Ball State.

After a timeout - and a quick hug from Coles - Horace took Josh Hausfeld's pass for a breakaway dunk and free throw that provided the winning points in the RedHawks' 58-56 win Saturday at Millett Hall.

"I thought Danny Horace was phenomenal today," Coles said.

Horace scored a game-high 18 points and just missed his second double-double of the season with nine rebounds.

The victory gave Miami (7-9, 5-2 Mid-American) three straight wins for the first time since last February and let the RedHawks avoid a third straight loss to Ball State. The Cardinals (7-10, 2-5) suffered their 11th consecutive loss at Millett Hall.

The RedHawks remain in third place in the MAC's East Division. First-place Kent State (13-2, 6-1) and second-place Marshall (9-6, 5-2) both won Saturday.

Miami overcame bad shooting by scoring 18 second-chance points to Ball State's 11.

"We knew we had to get after the offensive boards because we couldn't buy a basket," Horace said. "We had to get second shots."

RedHawks junior guard Juby Johnson added 14 points while holding Ball State senior Chris Williams, who entered the game second in the MAC with a 23.1 average, to a season-low eight points.

"I just tried to play my regular defense," Johnson said. "I thought the team did a great job when they swung the ball to him. I don't know if it frustrated him. I've got to see him again."

The Cardinals grabbed the first seven rebounds of the game while opening a 15-7 lead. Miami's first rebound was a team rebound, and Horace recorded the RedHawks' first individual grab six minutes into the game.

Miami fought back to make it a nip-and-tuck game before freshman guard Hausfeld hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Johnson followed with seven unanswered points during a 13-5 run that put the RedHawks ahead 47-38 with 13:11 left in the game.

Horace's three-point play left Miami leading 58-53, but Cardinals sophomore guard Matt McCollom was fouled by RedHawks junior Chet Mason while trying a 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds left. McCollom, who led Ball State with 16 points, hit all three free throws and, after Horace missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Cardinals had one last shot with 1.4 seconds left.

Cameron Echols caught the inbounds pass in traffic near the basket, but he used too much time dribbling and hit the jumper he launched after the buzzer.

"The way he threw it, I said, 'They're not going to be able to get that shot off,'" Coles said. "The other thing was, it wouldn't have won it. It would only have tied it. We had a chance to go to overtime."

NOTES: Coles deployed his sixth different starting lineup in 16 games ... The crowd of 5,004 was Miami's second-largest at home this season ... Only the Dayton game Dec. 4 drew more ... Junior Gene Seals lasted just four minutes in his second start before leaving with an injured left ankle ... The severity of the injury was not known ... The RedHawks' seven turnovers matched their season low.

Ball State	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Owens	37	4	9	1	2	5	1	2	3	9
Echols	32	7	12	1	1	7	0	4	1	15
Cates	31	3	5	0	1	10	0	3	1	6
McCollum	28	5	12	5	5	0	2	4	3	16
Williams	35	3	11	0	0	4	0	0	1	8
Cox	6	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0
Bennett	8	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	0
Farris	14	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Howland	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0
Totals	200	23	52	7	9	32	4	16	12	56

Team rebounds - 3.

Miami	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Seals	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
Horace	40	6	16	6	8	9	0	2	3	18
Hausfeld	33	2	7	2	2	2	3	2	1	8
Mason	38	3	9	0	0	8	2	3	1	6
Johnson	40	5	14	1	2	4	0	1	0	14
Jameson	6	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Williams	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
VanderSluis	8	0	0	2	2	1	0	0	1	2
Reed	28	4	7	0	0	5	3	1	1	8
Totals	200	21	55	11	14	34	10	9	7	58

Team rebounds - 5.

Ball State	29	27	-56
Miami	28	30	-58

3-pointers - BS 3-14 (Owens 0-2, McCollum 1-6, Williams 2-6), MU 5-23 (Horace 0-2, Hausfeld 2-6, Mason 0-4, Johnson 3-9, James 0-1, Reed 0-1). Technicals - None. Officials - Roberts, Turner, Wymer. Attendance - 5,004.