Miami, which received two votes in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 and is ranked No. 4 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25, is off to its best start since the 1995-96 season.
Peter Suder added 16 points and five rebounds for Miami, while Brant Byers scored 12. Trey Perry came off the bench to finish with 11 points, and Almar Atlason chipped in 10. Luke Skaljac handed out nine assists as the RedHawks shot 50% from the floor, knocked down 10 of 26 from 3-point range and went 18 of 24 at the foul line.
Miami led 41-35 at halftime and appeared to take control early in the second half. Ipsaro, Suder and Perry fueled a 29-11 burst that pushed the RedHawks’ advantage to 70-52 with just over nine minutes to play. Perry drilled a pair of 3s and converted a three-shot trip to the line during the spurt, while Suder and Ipsaro repeatedly got to the rim.
The Bulldogs answered with a barrage of big shots to claw back. Toyaz Solomon and Justin Wright combined for 19 points over the final eight minutes of regulation, with Solomon connecting from deep and Wright scoring repeatedly in the lane. Solomon’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 82-76 with just over two minutes left.
DJ Patrick’s four straight free throws sliced the Miami lead to 83-82 with 45 seconds left, and after a RedHawk miss, Myles Mayfield knocked down two foul shots to give UNC Asheville its first lead of the half at 84-83 with 23 seconds to go. Suder was fouled on the other end and split a pair at the line with 10 seconds remaining to tie it at 84, and Wright’s contested 3-point attempt at the buzzer rimmed out to send the game to overtime.
Solomon opened the extra period with a jumper, and Wright later added a free throw to give the Bulldogs an 87-84 edge. That’s when Ipsaro took over again. He drove for a layup with 2:06 left to pull Miami within one, then buried a pull-up jumper from the right wing with 1:13 to play to put the RedHawks ahead 88-87.
Miami got a stop in the final seconds when Solomon’s driving attempt in traffic bounced off the rim. Byers was fouled while grabbing the rebound as the horn sounded and made the first of two free throws to extend the lead to 89-87. On the ensuing inbounds, Ipsaro was fouled and hit one of two from the line for the final margin.
Solomon finished with 31 points on 11 of 17 shooting and hit 5 of 6 from 3-point range to lead UNC Asheville (4-6). Wright added 26 points and eight assists, Patrick scored 12 points and Mayfield contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 48.4% from the field, went 10 of 22 from long distance and 17 of 22 at the line.
The game marked the first-ever meeting between the programs. Miami, which came in ranked third nationally in scoring margin (28.6) and sixth in scoring offense (95.4 points per game), won despite surrendering its largest lead of the season and being out-rebounded 33-30.
The RedHawks continue their four-game road trip at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.
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