DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — Michael Bramos had a spectacular view and a supporting role in one of Miami University's greatest basketball moments last weekend.

"The biggest assist of my career," the 6-foot-5 sophomore guard said with a laugh. "I'd say so. By far."

It was Bramos who rebounded a missed Akron free throw, hurried down the court and passed the ball to Doug Penno, who banked in a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to give the RedHawks a 53-52 triumph and the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

MU (18-14) is now headed to Spokane, Wash., for an NCAA Tournament date with Oregon (26-7) on Friday afternoon.

"It's a really exciting time," Bramos said. "The only bad thing is the students are on spring break and aren't here to share it with us. We've still got a game to get ready for. We're starting to get our focus back after the ridiculous ending to that game last Saturday."

He was the starting point for that ending after the Zips' Cedrick Middleton couldn't connect on the front end of the bonus with 6.6 seconds remaining.

"The ball came off the rim real hard — I was actually surprised it came off so fast," Bramos said. "I just tipped it and went to the corner. From there, I just tried to get it down the court as fast as I could. One of their guys came running at me, so I pitched it to Doug. Everyone knows what happened after that."

And where was Bramos when Penno became a banker?

"I was right behind him," Bramos said. "When he let it go, it didn't look good. But as it was getting closer, I knew it had a chance to bank."

MU coach Charlie Coles is expecting plenty of heroics from Bramos in the next two years, and the Harper Woods, Mich., native is already off to a pretty good start.

Bramos is third among the RedHawks with an 11.0 scoring average, hitting 36.8 percent of his 3-pointers and 83.2 percent of his free throws.

"It takes a player a while to establish good habits every night," Coles said. "That's tough to do. He's getting better at it, though. In the games that he's played well, we always win. He's a difference maker for our team."

Bramos has converted 46 treys this season, many from very long range. He's regained confidence in his shot after suffering a concussion against Western Michigan on Feb. 3.

The runner-up in Michigan's Mr. Basketball voting as a prep senior (Wilson Chandler, now at DePaul, was the winner), Bramos is trying to live up to some lofty expectations in Oxford.

"I expected Michael to be one of the best players ever to play at Miami," Coles said. "He's probably on track to really explode next year. By his senior year, I expect everybody will be talking about him.

"If he's a guy averaging 15 points a game, it's probably going to be worth 22, 23 points a game because he blocks shots, he runs, he does so many different things," Coles continued. "I get mad at him sometimes because he hasn't left his mark on the game. I told him the other night, 'Come on, you've got to start making plays now.' He's got that kind of ability."

Bramos said his first offensive concern on a daily basis is getting the ball to Tim Pollitz and Nathan Peavy down low.

"Then I'll find my ways to score, penetrate a little bit and see what happens," Bramos said. "If the opportunity presents itself, I'm going to look for my shot."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2194 or rcassano@coxohio.com.