A sea of green shirts engulfed Tommy Freeman as he sent Miami home with a loss.
The junior guard nailed a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining on the clock to give Ohio a 70-68 victory over the RedHawks last night.
A driving layup in traffic by Kenny Hayes put Miami ahead 68-67 with 7.7 seconds left. Coach John Groce did not call for a timeout, and Armon Bassett pushed the ball up to D.J. Cooper.
Cooper sent a cross-court pass to Freeman who pump-faked before he stepped back and launched the shot. The ball hit nothing but twine, and fans mobbed Freeman and the rest of the team at midcourt as the buzzer sounded.
Honestly
I thought it was off when I let it go Freeman said. But I'm glad that I was wrong.
Miami coach Charlie Coles said Hayes scored with too much time on the clock and that he knew Groce didn't plan on taking a timeout.
I want like two seconds left on that Coles said. Because if we miss the shot
chances are we're not going to win the game anyway.
Junior DeVaughn Washington led the Bobcats with 25 points and had a key play down the stretch that gave Ohio a chance to win the game.
Miami inbounded the ball with a 66-65 lead and 29.3 seconds remaining on the clock. Washington stole the ball in the backcourt and drove to the basket before making two free throws after being fouled.
Ohio's press forced Miami to inbound the ball three times before finally getting the ball in play, a sequence that showed how Ohio made more plays down the stretch, Groce said.
Washington's total tied a career-high. The junior played a much different game than the last time the rivals met, when Washingon fouled out after just seven minutes of action.
He's been coming in when no one's around -shooting free throws
getting shots up
Groce said of Washington. I was glad for him to see that pay off for him.
Hayes led Miami with 20 points and six assists.
After a sluggish first half, the teams turned up the tempo after the break.
Ohio came out aggressive, and a 10-2 run in the first 1:42 of the period erased a 28-22 halftime deficit. The teams went back and forth for the rest of the half, as both teams shot well.
Hype about the rivalry made the game seem like a present, but the first half turned out to be an empty box.
On the first play of the game, Washington missed a wide-open dunk on an alley-oop pass by Cooper, which set the tone for the opening 20 minutes.
The Bobcats missed some open shots from in the paint, and both teams shot numerous air-balls in a first half that had no flow.
Nobody on either squad scored in double figures in the half. Miami's Nick Winbush came closest, as he had nine points and six rebounds.
Whenever one team forced a turnover, it seemed to give the ball right back trying to create a fast break. Referees whistled 14 fouls in the period, and neither team found a rhythm.
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