By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

Charlie Coles is totally in tune with the Miami philosophy of playing anybody, anywhere, at any time, but he also knows that 2-0 looks a heckuva lot better than 0-2.

That's where his RedHawk basketball team stood last season after opening against a Purdue team that ended up reaching an NCAA regional semifinal, and against Maryland, the defending national champion, in the first game at the Terrapins' new arena.

The RedHawks are expected to reverse last season's opening record with a win over Ohio Dominican, a Columbus NAIA team, in their home opener tonight at Millett Hall. Miami opened its season Friday with a 71-55 win at Liberty.

Tipoff for the RedHawks and Panthers is scheduled for 8 p.m. or 30 minutes after the Miami women's game against St. Louis, which is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

The Miami men will take a streak of 12 consecutive wins in home openers into the game, and while the record has its share of Thomas Mores and Mt. Vernon Nazarenes and Earlhams and Heidelbergs, there are wins over Temple, Tennessee and Dayton sprinkled in, too.

Ohio Dominican is 2-3 after losing to Rio Grande 71-59 Saturday in the championship game of the Defiance Invitational.

The Panthers reached the finals on the strength of junior Micah Stith's 40-foot 3-footer that gave them an 80-78 win over Grace College on Friday.

ODU had four players averaging in double figures after its first three games, led by Stith at 16.3.

"It's like the Findlay (exhibition) match-up," Coles said, referring to the NCAA Division II team Miami beat by three points. "It would make their year if they beat us, so we've got to make sure our emotion exceeds their emotion.

"Ohio Dominican is quick. They move the ball well. They like to score, so we have to play defense, and we are going to have to score. By no means is it a game where we can relax. We are going to have to play hard and execute."

The RedHawks put together a solid, all-around effort against the Flames on Friday. They scored at least 70 points for the first time in nine games.

While senior guard Juby Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, he also hauled in nine rebounds, the most he's collected in 41 games dating to a 12-rebound effort against Northern Illinois in 2002.

"Juby played well against Liberty," Coles said. "Getting Juby back (from an injury) has given us a real lift. Against Liberty, he got nine rebounds, and he hasn't done that for a while. He shot the ball well, but his rebounds were big."

Coles also appreciated Miami's defense, which allowed just one Liberty player - Gabe Martin - to reach double figures. The next highest Flame had seven points.

"We had some improvement from the exhibition to Friday night's game against Liberty," Coles said. "We've gotten a little bit better defensively, and our defense was much better than in our exhibition games.

"On offense, we got a fast break going against Liberty, and that was real good. We hope to continue being aggressive on offense because we want to score at least 70 points a game.

"We are an improved team from our exhibition games, but we have to continue to improve."

Ohio Dominican at Miami

Tipoff: 8 p.m. today (or 30 minutes after women's game), Millett Hall (9,200), Oxford.

Records: Miami 1-0, Ohio Dominican 2-3.

Radio: WMOH-AM (1450).

MIAMI

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Chet Mason	Jr.	6-4	12.0
Josh Hausfeld	So.	6-3	9.0
Juby Johnson	Sr.	6-5	22.0
Danny Horace	Jr.	6-6	16.0
Tim Schenke	Jr.	6-6	4.0

Coach: Charlie Coles (121-93, eighth season; 213-177 overall)

OHIO DOMINICAN

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Micah Stith	Jr.	6-4	16.3
Eric Krueger	Jr.	5-11	3.3
Mike Fiebig	Jr.	6-5	13.7
Haze Massey	So.	6-3	14.7
Jeremy Renner	Sr.	6-7	11.3

Coach: Dan Priest (73-58, fifth season; same overall).