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Miami captures first win in nearly a month

RedHawks impress their coach with the victory over Belmont.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 1:19 PM Sunday, December 18, 2011

OXFORD — For the first time in about a month, Miami University basketball players felt the thrill of success when they returned to their locker room.

“I said to the guys ‘embrace this feeling,’ ” sophomore Josh Sewell said after the RedHawks beat Belmont 66-61 Saturday at Millett Hall.

“We let ourselves down with those close losses, we let our fans down,” Miami sophomore Jon Harris said. “We knew we were better than that. ... This is a good little momentum boost for us.”

“Our team surprised me today,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said. “I didn’t know if we were ready to play that kind of game yet. After last Saturday I didn’t know what to expect.”

The victory over the Bruins, ranked by CollegeInsider.com as the No. 6 mid-major team in the nation, snapped a four-game losing streak for the RedHawks (3-5). It also let them know Julian Mavunga doesn’t have to be their only answer.

Of course, it also didn’t hurt to have Mavunga on the court even if it was for just 34 minutes, five minutes under his average. The 6-foot-8 senior still totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds, and helped seal the win by making 5-of-6 foul shots in the final 42 seconds.

But it was Sewell who helped end a 9-2 run by Belmont late in the game by knocking away two balls before the Bruins could get off a shot.

And it was Quinten Rollins whose driving basket with 1:03 to play might have been the biggest basket of the game, according to Coles.

Sewell and Harris each scored 12 points for the RedHawks and Rollins finished with 11.

“We work on (offensive balance) every day in practice,” Harris said. “Coach Coles works up a great offense. We don’t always show it.”

But they did late in the first half when the RedHawks put together a 12-0 run and took a 31-26 halftime lead.

Miami led by as many as 13 in the second half, but Belmont (7-4) stormed back to slice Miami’s lead to two points, 58-56, following a steal and layup by Ian Clark with 2:15 remaining.

“They already played Duke tough, taking them down to the wire,” Harris pointed out, referring to Belmont’s season-opening one-point loss to the Blue Devils. “We knew they would do that to us.”

Belmont coach Rick Hyde received an automatic ejection with 11:37 left in the second half when he drew back-to-back technical fouls.

Focus on college basketball Miami 66, Belmont 61

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