By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

OXFORD - Miami's not the best offensive rebounding team in the Mid-American Conference, but when the RedHawks get boards, they make them count.

Tim Schenke tipped in Juby Johnson's forced shot with 0.9 seconds left, and Johnson followed with two free throws to give the RedHawks a 74-70 win over Marshall in the regular-season finale Saturday at Millett Hall.

"I was just trying to get a bucket," said Johnson, who, along with Gene Seals, was playing the last game of his career at Millett. "Tim Schenke gave a great effort."

Marshall junior Ronny Dawn, a Newport Central Catholic product who made his first five shots and finished with 14 points, said: "It came down to the one rebound. ... Their offensive rebounding hurt us. It caught up with us at the end."

Miami (17-10, 12-6) clinched third place overall in the MAC and earned a first-round bye in the conference tournament. The RedHawks play the winner of Monday's game between sixth-seeded Ball State and 11th-seeded Akron at 2 p.m. Thursday at Cleveland's Gund Arena.

Miami and Toledo both were 12-6 in the league, but the RedHawks earned the bye because they beat the Rockets in the only game between the two teams this year.

"In this league, you don't want to play a first-round home game," Miami coach Charlie Coles said.

For the fourth time this season, Miami got a key tip-in with 4 seconds or less on the clock to pull out a win. Danny Horace's tip-in gave the RedHawks a three-point lead with four seconds left in MU's 51-48 overtime win at Marshall earlier this season. Chet Mason's tip-in with 4 seconds left gave MU a 64-63 overtime win against Ohio on Feb. 18 and Horace's putback as time expired beat Kent State 59-57 Wednesday.

LaVar Carter tied Saturday's game at 70 on a three-point play with 15.4 seconds left. Danny Horace fouled out, and after play resumed, Johnson brought the ball upcourt and drove to the right baseline, where he drew three defenders. His shot was short, but Schenke filled the space created by Johnson's drive to tip in the miss.

The clock didn't move as Marshall threw the ball away on the inbounds pass. Johnson was fouled before Miami could get the ball inbounds, and his two free throws gave him a game-high 30 points, one short of matching the career high he set Wednesday, and a total of 88 over his last three games.

Marshall	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Black	28	5	12	8	9	3	1	2	2	18
Patton	24	3	4	4	4	6	2	5	3	10
Hamilton	37	3	5	2	2	0	6	5	3	9
Dawn	30	5	6	0	0	2	1	1	0	14
Whitted	28	1	3	0	0	4	0	0	4	2
Smith	10	0	2	0	0	2	0	2	0	0
Bunch	15	3	4	0	0	1	1	1	0	8
Anderson	12	1	2	0	0	3	0	1	1	2
Carter	16	2	7	3	3	4	0	3	2	7
Totals	200	23	45	17	18	29	11	20	15	70

Team rebounds - 4.

Miami	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
St. Clair	23	0	2	0	0	4	3	1	0	0
Horace	22	3	5	1	1	3	1	5	1	7
Hausfeld	36	5	10	2	2	2	4	1	1	15
Mason	37	4	11	2	3	4	1	3	1	11
Johnson	35	9	20	8	11	2	3	2	3	30
Seals	25	3	6	2	3	10	3	2	2	9
Schenke	14	1	2	0	0	2	2	3	2	2
Hatcher	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Peavy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	200	25	56	15	20	29	17	17	11	74

Team rebounds - 2.

Marshall	30	40	-70
Miami	23	51	-74

3-pointers - Ma. 7-9 (Hamilton 1-2, Dawn 4-4, Smith 0-1, Bunch 2-2), MU 9-25 (St. Clair 0-1, Horace 0-1, Hausfeld 3-8, Mason 1-5, Johnson 4-8, Seals 1-2). Technicals - Miami (Mason). Officials - Rood, Kruger, Boroski. Att - 3,659.

MAC Tournament schedule

Monday

Game 1: No. 10 Ohio at No. 7 Bowling Green

Game 2: No. 11 Akron at No. 6 Ball State

Game 3: No. 9 Eastern Michigan at No. 8 Marshall

Game 4: No. 13 Central Michigan at No. 4 Toledo

Game 5: No. 12 Northern Illinois at No. 5 Buffalo

Thursday

Gund Arena, Cleveland

Game 6: Game 1 winner vs. No. 2 Kent State, noon

Game 7: Game 2 winner vs. No. 3 Miami, 2 p.m.

Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. No. 1 Western Michigan, 7 p.m.

Game 9: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner

Friday

Semifinals

Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 6:30 p.m.

Game 11: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday

Game 12: Championship game, 7 p.m., ESPN2