March 9, 2008

2008 MAC Tournament Bracket

Final Stats |  Quotes |  Notes

OXFORD, Ohio--Senior forward Tim Pollitz played his final game at Millett Hall and scored 18 points and had eight rebounds as Miami University's men's basketball team topped Bowling Green 75-59 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Miami moved to 15-14 on the season and finished Mid-American Conference play with a 9-7 mark. The RedHawks are the No. 5 seed in the MAC Tournament and face No. 12 seed Buffalo in a first-round game at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Bowling Green (13-16; 7-9 MAC) is the No. 9 seed and faces No. 8 seed Toledo at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

While it was Tim Pollitz's day, it was junior forward Michael Bramos who ignited the RedHawks early, scoring 12 of Miami's first 15 points as the Red and White leapt to an early 15-3 lead. Bramos finished with a game-high 24 points, the ninth time this season he has eclipsed the 20-point plateau. Bramos knocked down 5-of-7 3-pointers and added four steals. Junior guard Eric Pollitz chipped in 11 points for the RedHawks.

Bramos nailed a jumper at the 19:46 mark of the first half to score the game's first points, and Miami would never trail. Bowling Green got as close as one, 4-3, off a Nate Miller 3-pointer at the 16:36 mark, but Miami went on an 18-2 surge over the next six minutes to build a 22-5 lead with 10:36 remaining in the half. An Eric Pollitz 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining in the half sent the RedHawks into the lockerroom with a 36-20 lead.

The Falcons shrunk the gap to 11 points off a Brian Moten 3-pointer at 17:11 and trailed 12 points with 12:31 to play, 50-38. But Miami used a 10-1 run over the next three minutes to construct a game-high-tying 21-point lead off a Tim Pollitz layup with 9:45 remaining to put the RedHawks up 60-39. The RedHawks would lead by 21 three more times--the last coming with 2:21 to play off a junior guard Isiah Carson jumper to put the RedHawks up 73-52--and Miami rolled to the 75-59 win.

Miller paced the Falcons with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Moten and Joe Jakubowski chipped in 13 points apiece.

MAC Tournament Tickets
Reserve your seats in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena for this week's 2008 Mid-American Conference Basketball Tournament! Get MAC Women's and Men's Basketball Tournament tickets and join up with fellow Miamians for thrilling postseason hoops action and fun social events. To order tickets and ensure being seated with fellow Miami fans, call 1-866-MUHAWKS. Tickets also may be picked up in Quicken Loans Arena's "Winner's Circle" (located just outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers team store) immediately following each Miami MAC Tournament victory.

Red & White Rallies at the Hard Rock Café
All Miami Basketball fans are invited to attend the Red & White Rally at the Hard Rock Café, located in the Tower City Center, adjacent to Quicken Loans Arena. The rally will be held in the 'Icons of Rock Room' at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 10 in preparation for the Miami Women's quarterfinal game at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11. There also will be a Red & White Rally at the Hard Rock Café on Wednesday, March 12 at 6 p.m. prior to the Miami Men's opening round game at 8 p.m. that night.

Red and White Rally's will be held before additional games in which Miami plays at the Hard Rock Café approximately two hours prior to each contest for potential games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.