Miami Student

Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Sports

Senior forward Tim Pollitz drives to the basket against Akron Tuesday night at Millett Hall. The loss drops Miami to a 7-6 conference record.

A consistently close game ended in a loss for Miami University's men basketball team Tuesday night. Playing against the University of Akron, the RedHawks suffered a loss after a foul called on senior forward Tim Pollitz negated his game-tying basket.

The final score was 56-52, dropping the RedHawks to an overall record of 13-12 on the season, and 7-6 in Mid-American Conference play.

Pollitz had made a lay-up to with 21 seconds remaining to tie the game, but the basket was discounted after he was whistled for a charging foul.

"I'm an honest type of guy, I don't blame it on that," Pollitz said. "(Zips' Senior guard Nick) Dials was in the paint too. He was pretty close underneath the rim. I kind of slid, so there wasn't complete contact. With my left hand, I kind of got it around him a little bit. Still-no body contact. Tough call; could have gone either way."

A quick foul sent Akron to the line, where junior forward Nate Linhart missed the front end of a one-and-one to give the ball back to the 'Hawks with 17 seconds left. Miami junior guard Kenny Hayes drove the lane all the way to the basket, but was denied by two Zips, neither of whom were called for the foul that Miami fans were screaming for.

Despite the crowd's displeasure, Head Coach Charlie Coles did not blame the loss on the officiating at the end of the game. He was much more concerned by the play of his team, which he said was lacking in effort. Coles directly challenged the effort given by his players while recognizing the skill of Akron's team.

"I think you have got to give a lot of credit to Akron," Coles said. "I was a little afraid of this game because I felt like they had a little something that we didn't have at this point, and they have a little mental toughness that we're still wrestling with this year. We're not quite there. I think their spirit and competitiveness surpassed our spirit and competitiveness."

Pollitz led the 'Hawks in scoring with 18 points and tacked on a game high seven rebounds. Junior guard Kenny Hayes made five out of his six free-throw shots on his way to 13 points. This also marks the 12th consecutive game that Hayes scored in double figures.

Continued...

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