TODAY’S GAME
Bowling at 3:30 980, 1450
Owens and Jovic credited Coleman-Lands with changing the chemistry when he came off the bench in the first five minutes. He finished with 13 points and seven assists in just under 35 minutes.
“The energy changed,” Jovic said. “Isaiah brought energy from the bench.”
The RedHawks will play two of their last three games at home, starting today with a 3:30 p.m. game against East Division-leading Bowl- ing Green (21-7, 12-3). The Falcons edged Miami, 78-76, at Bowling Green on Jan. 7.
That game will be Miami’s third in five days.
“It’s a quick turnaround,” Owens said. “This time of year, you have to make things a little shorter — an hour-anda-half film and practice. It’s like an NBA schedule. The guys like it. They’re play- ing games and not as much practice.”
“We’ve got to stay locked in and focused on the next game,” Jovic said.
The return of junior forward Dalonte Brown could help. Brown, who missed Miami’s previous three games, scored four points with two rebounds in nine- and-a-half minutes while wearing a brace on his left knee.
“It was great to see him out there flying around,” Owens said. “He was a big part of the game.”
Miami missed its first six shots and needed 5:32 to sink its first field goal and fell behind, 13-4, but Cole- man-Lands gave the RedHawks their first lead with a personal 8-0 run, mak- ing back-to-back 3-point- ers and a layup after a steal for a 21-17 lead. Jovic made two3-pointers and Sibande contributed five points to a 13-0 run that gave Miami a 36-23 run on the way to a 39-27 halftime lead.
The RedHawks outrebounded the Chippewas, 22-13, before halftim e, led by Sibande’s six. The count included three offen- sive rebounds before Eli McNamara scored on a short jumper for a 38-27 lead with 1:18 left in the half.
“That was the extra-effort play we talk about,” Owens said. “We thought if they went small that we’d get some second-chance opportunities.”
■ M iami has dec l ared today Darrell Hedric Day with several honors scheduled throughout the game for the Hall of Fame 14-year coach, who also spent 1994 as the university’s interim athletic director.
■ Miami wentinto Thursday’s game 12th in the overall standings of the 12-team MAC. The bottom four teams play first-round road games in the MAC Tournament, which starts March 9.
■ Thursday’s game was postponed from Jan. 28 due to a Miami coronavirus scare that proved to be unfounded. The RedHawks lost at Central Michigan, 93-82, in their conference opener on Jan. 4.