The Miami RedHawks finally got tired of close games.
No. 23-ranked Miami relied on lights-out shooting to secure a 90-74 win at Marshall Feb. 7. The RedHawks, though no strangers to dramatic finishes, never left the outcome in doubt in their road trip to Huntington, West Virginia. They opened up a 21-point lead with just under five minutes to go in the first half and the Thundering Herd never got within striking distance again.
It was an all-around dominant performance for Miami in the second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Marshall just couldn’t get any offense going and Miami carved up a porous defense.
Miami remains among the nation’s final two unbeaten teams with the win, alongside No. 1 Arizona. Now at 24-0, the RedHawks continue to build on their record-breaking start to the year.
Eian Elmer leads RedHawks with first-half dominance
The RedHawks offense, one of the top units in the land, had another strong showing against the Thundering Herd.
Miami shot an astonishing 60% from 3-point range in the first half, making 6 of 10 attempts. Junior Eian Elmer was the catalyst, splashing three 3-pointers in the first five minutes to jump ahead of the Thundering Herd. He ended the half with 12 points, going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Elmer has been everywhere for the RedHawks this season, but his 3-point shooting has been particularly critical. He’s shot 41% on the season, and it was his buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation against Buffalo that sent the game to overtime and kept the undefeated season alive. His hard work in practice has fully paid off.
“I just work on getting reps of the shots that you might need to take in a game,” Elmer said earlier in the year. “You never know what situation it might be, but if you’ve practiced that shot, it’s muscle memory.”
Elmer finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds, leading a balanced attack which saw five RedHawks reach double figures. Peter Suder turned in 17, Antwone Woolfolk had 15, Lule Skaljac scored 12, and Almar Atlason had 10 off the bench. Justin Kirby, though only scoring nine points, went 4-for-4 from the field.
That the RedHawks can seemingly rely on a half-dozen players to lead the offense any given night makes them a nightmare to gameplan against.
RedHawks aggressive defense here to stay?
The offense has been spectacular the whole year for Miami, but the defense has consistently lagged behind. Saturday, the RedHawks were firing on all cylinders in every facet of the game.
Miami held Marshall (now 15-9, 11-3 at home) to just 31 points on 30% shooting in the first half. The RedHawks were able to turn six Marshall turnovers into 10 points, leading to an 18-point halftime lead. While the Thundering Herd were able to put together a stronger second half, Miami still held them under their average output of 80 points per game.
The RedHawks allowed opponents over 100 points in back to back games in January, but the win over Marshall marks three straight games of improved defensive performances. Since Jan. 31, the RedHawks have held each opponent under 74 points.
The RedHawks are getting the defense figured out in time for March with just seven games left before the MAC tournament.
What’s next for RedHawks?
With their two-game road trip to Buffalo and Marshall complete, the RedHawks return home for a showdown with rival Ohio on ESPN. That matchup will take place Feb. 13 and has already been announced as a sellout.
After that nationally televised game, Miami is headed northeast to take on UMass. The Feb. 17 road trip is Miami’s toughest test remaining on paper, as Barttorvik.com has the RedHawks as just over three-point favorites. When the two teams met in Millett Hall on Jan. 27, Miami scraped by with an 86-84 win.
