The RedHawks are the kings of the clutch once again.
With a 69-67 win over Western Michigan, Miami improves to 29-0 on the season. Playing without starting point guard Luke Skaljac and missing leading-scorer Peter Suder for long stretches, the cardiac RedHawks still completed the comeback to remain perfect.
In his first start for the RedHawks, Lakota East alum Trey Perry dropped in a tear drop to win the game with 0.4 seconds left. A WMU heave at the horn was off. The freshman point guard finished with 14 points.
Miami is just the seventh team to go 29-0 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The most recent team to achieve the feat, 2020-2021 Gonzaga, reached the national championship game.
Here’s what we learned in the come-from-behind victory for the nation’s final undefeated team.
RedHawks comeback in another thriller
Miami wasn’t able to bring its elite offense with it on the road trip up to Michigan. Before heading to Eastern Michigan on Feb. 24, the RedHawks were No. 2 offense in the country. Against the Eagles, the RedHawk defense was enough to come away with a 74-64 win while shooting just 5-for-28 from 3-point range.
Against the Broncos Friday night, the offense got off to another slow start. The RedHawks went into the locker room down 30-26 after shooting just 37% from the field. Missing point guard Luke Skaljac, who himself replaced Evan Ipsaro in the starting lineup back in December, certainly didn’t help the flow of the offense.
Perry was the next man up for Miami and he showed up in Kalamazoo. In his first start, he led all RedHawks with 9 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first half, driving hard to the rim and making acrobatic finishes. He would finish the game with 14 points, including the crucial drive to the basket bucket that proved to be the game-winner.
Peter Suder tried his best to catalyze the offense, but struggled with foul trouble all night. He helped the RedHawks battle back to tie things up at 49-49, but picked up his fourth foul and headed to the bench. With him gone, the Broncos went on an 8-0 run to take control of the game. Suder would finish with 18 points after being fouled out on a charge with 7:03 left to go in the game.
Even down two of their best players, the RedHawks had fight to spare. Miami clawed back to take a 66-65 lead with just under two minutes to go. Almar Atlason went off for 12 points in the second half, finishing with 16.
Western Michigan tied the game up at 69-all with just 15 seconds remaining, but Perry capped his first start with his biggest bucket yet. As time nearly ran out, Perry drove to the bucket and dropped in a contested layup.
Earlier in the season, Perry talked about trying to fill the shoes of the more experienced guards on the roster.
“I’m just trying to fill that void in every way that I can,” Perry said. “When I’m on the court, I try to chip in and contribute in every way possible.”
Against the Broncos, he contributed not just his scoring but his energy to spark the dramatic win. His near-buzzer-beater to keep the RedHawks perfect now enters the annals of Miami history.
Travis Steele halftime technical
Miami head coach Travis Steele was on the officials from the very beginning. A closely-called first half led to 8 first half fouls being assessed to the RedHawks and Steele made no effort to hide his displeasure after each call.
Things came to a head at the end of the first half. Down 30-26 at the break, Steele seemed to make a remark to the officials on the way to the locker room which proved to be the final straw. The referee assessed him a technical foul, leading to an expletive-filled outburst from the Miami coach.
Steele remained incensed all the way down the tunnel, pushing over a DJ’s speaker and having brief words for a nearby stadium police officer. Whether genuine outrage over the officiating or a show to fire up his team, Steele dialed things back in the second half.
Miami clearly responded, battling hard in the second half to pull off the comeback.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Miami University remains undefeated with comeback at Western Michigan
Reporting by Chase Souder, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
