SATURDAY’S GAME
Buffalo at Miami, 3:30 p.m., Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, 1450, 1230, 980, 101.3
The Miami University men’s basketball team came a long way to get smoked Wednesday night.
Host Kent State shot 57.9 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from 3-point range, whipping the RedHawks 87-70 and sending them to their seventh loss in the last eight games.
“We got our tails kicked,” MU coach John Cooper said. “A good, old-fashioned butt kicking — that’s what that was. We didn’t have enough energy to start the game. They made shots and were better than us tonight. Period.”
KSU forward Chris Evans entered the contest with a tender ankle and proceeded to torch Miami with 22 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and two assists before a crowd of 2,289 at the M.A.C. Center.
Allen Roberts (16), Geovonie McKnight (career-high 12) and Will Felder (10) paced the scoring for the RedHawks, who fell to 8-15 overall and 3-8 in the Mid-American Conference East Division.
“They’re definitely not 20 points better than us, but they played 20 points better than us,” said MU guard Josh Sewell, who scored five points in his first game action in nearly two weeks. “Winning isn’t impossible. We can bounce back.”
Cooper said he’ll continue to be positive with his squad, even with the season in a downward spiral.
“I’m frustrated with our effort tonight,” Cooper said. “We’ve got to get better, continue to work, continue to recruit, continue to do all those things.”
MU took a 3-0 lead on Will Sullivan’s trey, then gave up six straight points and played from behind the rest of the way.
The RedHawks were within 30-26 when KSU coach Rob Senderoff called a timeout with 5:56 left in the first half. The Golden Flashes (14-11, 5-6) responded with an 18-2 binge.
“I probably got a little animated about how we were guarding,” Senderoff said of the timeout. “We weren’t playing very smart.”
Evans was 9 of 14 from the floor and looked strong after suffering an ankle injury last weekend. He admitted the ankle was hurting during the game, “but when you’re playing, you don’t really focus on it too much. I wasn’t going to let it affect my energy.”
“My teammates were joking about it, that maybe my ankle should be injured every game,” Evans, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior, added with a smile.
“I’m going to kick him in the ankle tomorrow,” Senderoff said. “It was maybe his best game of the year, certainly his most efficient game. He did all of those things in 28 minutes.”
Said Cooper, “Chris Evans was just a man and took the game to us from the very beginning.”
Kris Brewer (13), Randal Holt (13), Mark Henniger (11) and Bryson Pope (10) also scored in double figures for Kent. Miami earned a 35-26 edge on the boards, outrebounding its opponent for the fifth consecutive game.
Sewell hadn’t played double-digit minutes since Dec. 19 against Wright State. The junior made 2 of 3 shots and had three rebounds in 13 minutes.
“I was really thankful for the opportunity,” said Sewell, who noted that he’s had no health issues in recent days. “It felt good when I was out there. Every little thing that I can do for the team, I want to do it. I think I can help us defensively.”
MU shot 47.2 percent from the field, sank 5 of 17 treys and committed 16 turnovers. Drew McGhee and Jon Harris both scored seven points, and McGhee snagged seven boards.
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