Spring Break
Miami falls short at Kent State
'Hawks 4-game winning streak ends with loss to Golden Flashes
Mike Zoller
Issue date: 2/16/07 Section: Sports
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The loss drops Miami to third place in the MAC East, one game behind the Golden Flashes and now two games behind the idle Akron Zips.
"They came out with such energy it rattled us," Miami Head Coach Charlie Coles said. "They had the energy of a team that won on a last second 3-pointer or that had just beaten Ball State by 22 (which the RedHawks have just done)."
That energy translated into aggressive defense, which included an almost unbreakable Kent State trap that caused Miami problems all night.
Throughout the first half the 'Hawks kept throwing the ball away in an attempt to get through the confusing defensive schemes of the Golden Flashes.
Even when the 'Hawks did break the trap, their lack of energy and cold shooting translated into just 16 first-half points.
"They played really solid defense and we just couldn't get anything going," said forward Tim Pollitz. "They took a lot of balls away from us and forced a lot of turnovers with their different traps."
The Golden Flashes were ready for Pollitz and his hot streak he had been riding the last few games and swarmed him every time he touched the ball. Even with two Golden Flashes on his back, Pollitz was the only RedHawk in double figures, scoring a team-leading 14 points.
"We knew they would be all over Pollitz," Coles said. "He still shot over 50 percent, so I consider that a pretty good night for him."
With Pollitz covered by at least two Kent State defenders, he did his best to kick the ball out to the open RedHawks on the court. Pollitz's hot streak wasn't contagious however, as Miami was unable to find the basket and saw the Kent State lead grow.
"We were expecting them to double-team me," Pollitz said. "I wasn't rattled by it, but give them credit, they played really well against me."
Michael Bramos and Nathan Peavy, two of Miami's top scorers behind Pollitz, took just 12 shots combined, hitting half of them and accounting for just 14 of Miami's points.
"When it looked like Peavy had a wide-open layup, my man (Peavy) looked like he forgot his glasses at home," Coles said.
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