Soderberg strong off the bench for RedHawks

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 11:34 PM Thursday, March 4, 2010

OXFORD — Kramer Soderberg has seen his playing time take a serious cut this season with Miami University’s basketball team, but on Thursday, March 4, he took serious advantage of his time on the court.

The 6-foot sophomore guard from St. Charles, Mo. scored a season-high nine points and had two assists and a steal in 22 minutes off the bench as Miami defeated Buffalo 73-62 at Millett Hall.

Soderberg, who started the first five games of the season, had not scored a point in his five previous games and had not seem more than 15 minutes of action since Dec. 10.

“He made a couple of drives that were good, he gave us a lift,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said.

Soderberg spent much of his time on the court with Kenny Hayes, which hasn’t happened much lately. Usually Soderberg has been spelling Hayes. But Coles liked what he saw against Buffalo.

“I think Kramer can feed off Kenny a little bit, if we can find some match-ups,” the Miami coach said.

Junior guard Rodney Haddix II also provided a spark off the bench, scoring seven points for the RedHawks.

“Rodney and Kramer, they both came in and gave us some great moments tonight,” Miami sophomore forward Julian Mavunga said.

No. 100 for Fletcher

Hayes, Adam Fletcher and Michael Aluise were honored on Senior Night, and for Fletcher — who returned to the court after missing the Kent State game with a leg injury — it was the 100th game of his career.

“A guy like Fletch, you wouldn’t believe how many points he creates for the team, taking up space, creating driving lanes,” Mavunga said.

“He’s the heart and soul of this team,” Mavunga added. “I’m thankful for these last two years I’ve been able to play with him.”

More point production

Miami’s 73 points against Buffalo were the most scored by the RedHawks since their 74-69 victory at Northern Illinois on Feb. 6 and their fourth-highest point total of the season.

Their most points came in the 82-58 romp over Evansville at Millett Hall on Nov. 28.

Clink, clank, clunk

Three Buffalo senior guards, John Boyer, Calvin Betts and Sean Smiley, played a total of 89 minutes on Thursday and went a combined 3-for-21 on their field goal attempts.

Buffalo’s best senior guard, Rodney Pierce, also struggled from the field, hitting only 3-of-13 shots. Bur Pierce did sink 9-of-10 free throws and finish with 16 points.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.

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