With the Miami RedHawks clinging to perfection, Suder rose to the occasion — again — and buried a long-range shot that defined another chapter in a season that refuses to bend.
“I knew it was going in once I shot it,” he smirked.
His 3-pointer with 1 second remaining in overtime lifted Miami to a thrilling 105-102 victory over Buffalo on Saturday afternoon at Millett Hall.
“It starts with our preparation two days ago,” Suder said. “I think we prepared really well for this game. It could have went better on the defensive end, in my opinion. But when both teams offensively are super good — they shot the ball, we shot the ball good — it’s going to come down to the wire. There’s a bunch of big moments in this game."
Suder scored a game-high 37 points, hit seven 3-pointers and logged 40 minutes as Miami pushed its unbeaten start to 19-0 and stayed perfect in Mid-American Conference play at 7-0.
“What a college basketball game,” Miami coach Travis Steele said. “It went back and forth all night. I told our guys going into the game we couldn’t make it a tennis match. Buffalo can really score the ball. They’ve got two very, very dynamic guards, and they surround them with shooters. They create a lot of space on the floor, and we weren’t good enough defensively tonight — not where we’ve been recently. But our guys are unflappable. The moment is never too big for them.”
That steadiness showed up most in Suder, whose shot-making carried Miami through long stretches of a game that featured 27 lead changes and eight ties.
“Pete was tremendous,” Steele said. “He’s a winner. Some guys need to score to feel good. Pete doesn’t. If he needs to score 37, he will. If he needs to score six, he will. That’s who he is.”
Buffalo (13-5, 3-3 MAC) pushed Miami at every turn. Angelo Brizzi scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting, Daniel Freitag added 22 and Ryan Sabol chipped in 20 — and the Bulls repeatedly answered Miami runs.
The Bulls led 48-46 at halftime and opened the second half with Brizzi’s 3-pointer to stretch the margin to five. Each time Miami threatened to pull away, Buffalo countered, turning the contest into the kind of possession-by-possession grind Steele said his team has learned to embrace.
“In regulation, they went on a run, and I probably should have used a timeout earlier,” Steele said. “But I just told our guys to live in the moment. Don’t worry about the scoreboard. Dominate the possession.”
Miami needed every bit of that composure just to reach overtime. With the RedHawks down three and time expiring, Brant Byers tipped out an offensive rebound to Eian Elmer, who drilled a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime at 88-88.
“The play by Brant on the tip-out was huge,” Steele said. “That’s doing your job in the moment. A lot of guys panic there, but he stayed composed and made the right play. Ian knocked it down, and it looked good the second it left his hand.”
In the extra period, Luke Skaljac’s free throws and Byers’ three-point play nudged Miami in front, but Buffalo stayed within striking distance.
Ezra McKenna’s fast-break 3 pulled the Bulls within one in the final seconds before Suder delivered the final blow.
“At the end of the game, players win games,” Steele said. “The two-man game between Luke and Pete was huge, and Pete made an enormous shot.”
Skaljac finished with 18 points and 10 assists, while Elmer added 17 points. Antwone Woolfolk recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Byers scored 14 as Miami leaned on contributions across the lineup.
Still, Steele didn’t sugarcoat the areas that nearly cost his team.
“We’ve got to be better defensively, and we’ve got to make free throws,” Steele said. “We were 16-for-26, and that’s not good enough. But it’s good to learn from a win. Great teams find a way, and our belief is unbreakable.”
That belief — built on experience, composure and a scorer who never flinches — remains intact.
“Pete is the ultimate competitor,” Steele said. “He moves on to the next play. That’s what winners do.”
Next game
Who: Miami at Kent State
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Streaming: ESPN+
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