New scorers could help reverse skid

RedHawks have found new offensive threats in recent games.

Kareem Elgazzar/MBR

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 2:32 AM Saturday, January 14, 2012

OXFORD — Since New Year’s Day, Miami University’s basketball team hasn’t stockpiled any wins but the RedHawks have found new weapons on offense.

First it was 3-point specialist Brian Sullivan, who has averaged 15.7 points over the last three games while hitting 11-of-17 shots from the arc.

The latest is Drew McGhee, Miami’s 6-foot-11 sophomore center who nearly brought down Kent State on the road with that short, left-handed jump hook of his.

McGhee shoots it from 6 or 7 feet away from the rim and rarely misses, as the Golden Flashes learned Wednesday night when he knocked down 8-of-10 attempts while scoring a career-high 16 points.

“It’s been my go-to move as a basketball player,” said McGhee, a graduate of North Ridgeville High School. “It’s something that’s really been working for me, and the coaches have been working with me to improve it.”

McGhee said it helps to have the leading scorer in the Mid-American Conference on the same team.

“A player like Julian Mavunga, when they doubled him (at Kent State) it opened it up for me a lot,” he said.

Before Wednesday’s game, which KSU rallied to win 71-67, McGhee never had taken more than six shots in a college game. He was hardly on anyone’s radar.

That probably won’t be the case tonight when the RedHawks face the Buffalo Bulls, when McGhee walks onto the Millett Hall court with his 66.0 field goal percentage.

It’s a game Miami needs to win, desperately. The loss at Kent State left the RedHawks as the only team in the Mid-American Conference East Division with an 0-2 league record.

And although the RedHawks have played well in their last three games, also including contests at Vanderbilt and at home against Akron, they’ve lost all three and nine of their last 11.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or Pete.Conrad@coxinc.com.

Today’s game

Who: Buffalo Bulls (8-5, 1-1 MAC) at Miami RedHawks (4-10, 0-2)

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Millett Hall, Oxford

TV: SportsTime Ohio

Radio: WMOH-AM (1450)

Series: Miami leads 19-8

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