OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — Darrian Ringo scored 21 on 6-of-10 shooting and Nike Sibande had 13 points and nine rebounds to help Miami (Ohio) beat Ohio 68-55 on Monday night in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The seventh-seeded RedHawks will play No. 2 seed Toledo, which beat Miami 73-67 on Feb. 9 in only other meeting between the teams this season.
Ringo scored seven consecutive points during a 19-2 run that made it 19-7 midway through the first half and Miami (16-16) led the rest of the way. Jalen Adaway hit a 3 and Ringo added two more to push the lead to 17 before Mike Laster’s jumper made it 33-18 at the break. Doug Taylor made a layup to pull the Bobcats (14-17) within six with 8:48 to go, but they would get no closer. Logan McLane answered with six consecutive points before Jalen Coleman-Lands hit a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 spurt that made it 65-60 with a minute left.
Laster had 16 points and Taylor added 13 with eight boards for Ohio. Jordan Dartis, who came in averaging 13.6 points, left the game late in the first half due to an injury and didn’t return. He was scoreless, in a season-low 11 minutes, for just the second time this season.
Miami snapped a seven-game skid against the Bobcats.