Williams' Double-Double Not Enough to Stop Miami

March 14, 2008

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Michael Bramos scored 23 points on 7-13 shooting to lead fifth-seeded Miami to a 74-61 upset of fourth-seeded Ohio in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Thursday evening at the Quicken Loans Arena. The RedHawks improved to 17-14 overall and will face top-seeded Kent State (26-6) in the Friday's semifinals at 9:30 p.m. The Golden Flashes advanced with a 77-57 win over eighth-seeded Toledo (11-19) earlier Thursday. Ohio dropped to 19-12 overall.

Tyler Dierkers finished with a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds), while Kenny Hayes had 12 points and five assists to go with Alex Winbush's 10 in the first half.

Ohio junior forward Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) had 17 points and nine rebounds, while senior forward Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) had his 42^nd career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds with three steals. Junior forward Justin Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) had 12 points on 5-9 shooting. Junior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) had five first-half assists, while senior guard Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) also had five.

Williams' steals were just a small part of his defensive effort as he coaxed Miami's Tim Pollitz into a 2-11 effort from the field and just four points.

Miami outrebounded Ohio 42-31 and held a significant edge in 3-point shooting (47.1 percent-30.8 percent). Both teams made eight shots, but the Bobcats took nine more attempts to do it.

The Bobcats made just six turnovers which was the fewest for the program since committing the same amount in a 64-52 win over Samford on Feb. 18, 2006. Ohio turned Miami's eight miscues into 16 points, but was outscored by the RedHawks' bench 19-9.

Ohio raced out from the start of the contest, scoring 10 of the game's first 11 points. However, Miami answered that run with a spurt of its own when it ripped off the next 13 points over a span over a six minute, two second span to claim a 14-10 lead on a jumper by Tim Pollitz at the 11:48 mark. The half was played fairly equal the rest of the way, with Miami taking a 39-35 edge into the locker room.

Tillman notched 11 of his points and four of his boards in the first half on 4-8 shooting from the floor and 2-4 from 3-point range. As a team, the Bobcats registered assists on 10 of their 13 field goals against just two turnovers, powered by Allen's five.

Bramos (12) and Winbush (10) posted double-digits in the first half for the RedHawks, while Dierkers had seven rebounds. Hayes had three assists.

Miami built its halftime lead on a sterling effort from the 3-point line (6-8, 75 percent), a significant rebounding edge (20-10) and a 16-6 advantage on bench points. Neither team blocked a shot.

Ohio mounted a good surge at the outset of the second half and took its last lead of the contest at the 15:37 mark on a pair of Tillman free throws. The RedHawks kept Ohio at bay by a handful of points for most of the rest of the game before the Bobcats closed to four (63-59) on a 3-pointer by Allen with 2:10 to play. Unfortunately, Miami ripped off 11 of the next 13 points to finish the contest strong.

The Bobcats have amassed 19 wins the last three seasons.