By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

Miami's Josh Hausfeld dives for a loose ball against Kent State's Jason Edwin. Hausfeld finished with nine points and four assists as MU improved to 3-1 in conference play. (Jeff Swinger photo)

OXFORD - After not playing at Millett Hall for 28 days, the Miami RedHawks are playing three games in eight days on their home court - and they're making the most of it.

Miami beat Kent State in Oxford for the first time in four games by opening a 22-point lead early in the second half and holding off the Golden Flashes for a 74-65 Mid-American Conference win Wednesday night.

It was the first home victory over Kent State for the Miami seniors.

"We were talking about that a couple of days ago," said Juby Johnson, who scored a game-high 22 points. "I asked (Gene Seals), 'Have we ever beaten (Kent State) here?' He said, 'No.' I said, 'We can't leave without one of those.' "

The RedHawks (6-5, 3-1) snapped a five-game losing streak against Kent State (10-3, 4-1) and moved to within a half-game of first place in the MAC East Division with their third consecutive win.

Chet Mason scored 19 points and Seals added 11.

"I think the story of the game was (Miami) did a good job defensively, and they got to every loose ball," Kent State coach Jim Christian said. "Miami made all the winning plays. Chet Mason made all the winning plays - the plays that don't show up in the stat sheet."

The RedHawks held Kent State to 23.8 percent shooting (5-for-21) while taking a 38-21 halftime lead, matching Miami's second-largest halftime advantage of the season. KSU's 21 points matched its lowest first-half output of the season, in a 60-49 loss to Rhode Island.

Tim Schenke gave Miami the lead for good with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 11:59 left in the first half. The 6-foot-6 junior finished with nine points, but his biggest contribution might have been coaxing John Edwards, Kent State's 7-foot senior, into early foul trouble and limiting him to four points in eight minutes of action in the first half.

"I just tried to stay on top of him, but it was more knowing that my teammates were behind me," Schenke said. "You can't stop a guy like that on your own. It takes a team effort."

Kent State	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Bedford	23	1	5	4	5	3	1	4	1	6
Edwards	21	4	9	7	8	4	0	3	5	15
Jakeway	24	0	4	0	0	4	5	3	0	0
Haut	31	1	8	2	2	1	2	3	2	5
Haynes	30	6	13	1	2	2	4	2	1	15
Cutley	10	0	0	0	0	3	1	2	2	0
Edwin	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Johnson	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Gates	15	5	8	0	0	3	0	5	2	15
Howard	10	1	3	0	0	5	1	4	0	2
Brown	21	1	3	5	6	2	1	2	1	7
Totals	200	19	53	19	23	31	15	28	16	65

Team rebounds - 4.

Miami	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Seals	33	2	6	7	10	6	3	3	1	11
Schenke	26	4	7	0	0	3	1	4	2	9
Hausfeld	36	3	6	0	0	2	4	0	0	9
Mason	34	7	14	5	8	7	3	1	4	19
Johnson	33	6	10	10	14	6	2	4	4	22
Hatcher	10	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
St. Clair	14	0	1	0	0	1	0	3	1	0
Peavy	14	1	4	2	2	1	1	2	2	4
Totals	200	23	49	24	34	33	14	17	14	74

Team rebounds - 6.

Kent State	21	44	-65
Miami	38	36	-74

3-pointers - KS 8-24 (Bedford 0-2, Jakeway 0-2, Haut 1-7, Haynes 2-6, Gates 5-7), MU 4-14 (Seals 0-1, Schenke 1-3, Hausfeld 3-5, Mason 0-1, Johnson 0-2, Hatcher 0-1, Peavy 0-1). Officials - Simpson, Clark, Sauder. Attendance - 2,817.

NextHome vs. Ball State, 2p.m.

Saturday.Miami 74, Kent State 65