There were eight lead changes and six ties in the last eight minutes, and the RedHawks had a chance to force overtime in the final 10 seconds.
“I love this team’s attitude,” Cooper said. “I’m excited about this group. If they’ll work and stick together and understand what it’ll take, we’ll get better.”
The RedHawks (1-1) will have a chance to build on that performance when they host the Tarkett Sports Classic this weekend. They’ll face Delaware (2-1) at 7 pm. today, Austin Peay (1-1) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Northern Kentucky (1-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Miami is staging an early-season tourney on its campus for the second straight year. Lipscomb, Florida Atlantic and Northeastern visited Oxford for the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic last season, and the RedHawks won two of three games.
PHOTOS: View photos from Miami-Wright State game
“Any time at our level when you can get home games, that’s good,” Cooper said. “It’s the same thing for Wright State. They’ve got a tournament and are able to get home games (in the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic over Thanksgiving weekend). It’s hard.
“It also gives our kids an understanding of what the conference tournament is all about. You could play three games in a row, and you have to bounce back. It expands your bench because, by the third day, guys are tired.”
The RedHawks appear to have a deep bench this season. Cooper rotated 10 players against Wright State, and it might have been 11 if 6-foot-8 forward Ben Eke Kazee wasn’t sidelined with a torn ACL.
He’s part of a promising freshman class that includes 6-2 guard Michael Weathers and 6-9, 295-pound center Darius Harper.
Weathers started and had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Harper, a top sub from Springfield High School, had eight points and four rebounds in 17 minutes.
“We’ve got some freshmen that have some ability, that’s for sure,” Cooper said. “Unfortunately for me, we’ve got to live with some of the things freshmen do. It’s a growth curve.”
Weathers, who hails from Overland Park, Kan., had 21 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in a season-opening win against Muskingum.
“He’s a terrific player,” Cooper said. “He’s got size. He’s got length. He’s got to get stronger. But he’s got the ability to go by people.
“We’ve got some other freshmen who have been really good for us in practice. We’re happy with that class and what they’ve brought us.”
Cooper is also pleased with the backing his program is getting from the administration at Miami to host a campus tourney.
“The fact that they’ve helped us here the last two years to be able to have this is a big deal,” he said. “It’s nice for our fans and nice for schools that are a like size as us to be able to get three games at the same place. But, certainly, if don’t have a commitment from the university, you can’t do this.”
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