Ayah’s career night lifts Miami past Ball State

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Ayah, who missed his entire freshman season with an injury and played in 15 games last season, piled up 11 points and 13 rebounds – tying Miami’s individual season high against Division I opponents – after Brown left the game with what coach Jack Owens described as a hip pointer in the first two minutes.

“Coach always is telling you that you’ve got to be ready when your name is called,” the 6-foot-6 Nigeria native said. “My name was called.”

“He stuck with it,” Owens said. “To do what he did tonight – I’m proud of him.”

Miami (14-12, 6-7 MAC East Division) sank just five field goals in the second half, none in the last 11:35, and allowed the Cardinals to chip a 15-point second-half lead down to one, but the RedHawks compensated by making 11-of-12 free throws down the stretch. Junior forward Bam Bowman made four straight before freshman guard Mekhi Lairy rattled in two with 3.0 seconds left, and Ball State missed a makeable 3-pointer at the buzzer, allowing Miami to avoid a second consecutive overtime game.

“I didn’t want that ball to go in,” Ayah said. “It was a long game, and I was ready to go home. You have to stay the course. It’s never going to be smooth.”

“We had some guys playing out of position, but the guys found a way to win,” Owens said. “The free throws were unbelievable. I liked how they shot those free throws with confidence.”

Sophomore guard Nike Sibande scored a game-high 17 points for Miami, including the last field goal, a 3-pointer. The 6-8 Bowman finished with 12 points. The RedHawks led the rest of the way after taking a 12-10 lead on an Ayah tip-in with 12:37 left in the first half.

Senior guard Tayler Persons scored 16 points to lead Ball State (14-12, 5-8 MAC West), which had won three straight games after a four-game losing streak, including a 71-65 loss to Miami in Muncie, Ind., on Jan. 22.

The RedHawks, who went into Tuesday’s game in position to host a MAC Tournament first-tournament game, play at Akron on Saturday and at Bowling Green on Tuesday before returning home to meet Buffalo on March 1 and Kent State on March 5. The Buffalo game originally was scheduled for March 2 before being moved. The RedHawks beat Akron, 68-61, and Bowling Green, 67-53, at Miami earlier this season.

Ayah and Bowman each scored eight points to help Miami take a 41-35 halftime lead. Fifth-year senior guard Abdoulaye Harouna, who scored a season-high 17 points in the RedHawks’ 84-79 overtime loss at Western Michigan on Saturday, hit a 3-pointer to give them their largest first-half lead, 24-14, with 9:08 left before halftime. Miami shot .531 (17-of-32) from the field in the first half. Ball State, which went into the game tied for first in the MAC with a .478 field-goal percentage, shot 40 percent (12-of-30) before halftime.

The Cardinals finished with a .393 shooting percentage.

“You always hang your hat on defense,” Owens said. “We’ve improved over the last couple of months.”

SATURDAY’S GAME

Miami at Akron, 2 p.m., 980, 1450