Jan. 30, 2008

Box Score

DeKALB, Ill.--Junior guard Kenny Hayes amassed 25 points and senior forward Tim Pollitz added 19 points to lead Miami University's men's basketball team to a road win at Northern Illinois University on Wednesday night, 66-51.

The win was Miami's first road win of the Mid-American Conference season and its first since defeating Illinois in overtime on Dec. 20. It boosted the RedHawks to 9-10 overall and 3-4 in MAC action, while dropping the Huskies to 5-14 overall and 2-5 in league action.

Junior center Tyler Dierkers tossed in the first bucket of the game at the 18:54 mark to give the RedHawks a 2-0 edge. The Huskies would never lead in the contest. NIU tied the game 2-2 and 4-4, but a Hayes go-ahead 3-pointer at the 17:02 mark in the first half gave Miami a 7-4 edge and a lead it would not relinquish.

Junior guard Eric Pollitz knocked down a 3-pointer at 11:11 to push the Miami advantage to eight points, 18-10, and a Hayes jumper with 5:26 remaining in the half again put the RedHawks up eight points, 20-12. NIU's Darion Anderson hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to cut the RedHawk lead to four points with 2:03 remaining, 20-16. A Tim Pollitz layup with 48 seconds left handed Miami a 22-16 lead heading into the half.

Miami put together a 13-3 surge to seize a 35-19 lead with 12:27 remaining. Tim Pollitz scored six points during the run, while Hayes chipped in five points. A Hayes 3-pointer at the 10-minute mark gave Miami a game-high 21-point lead, 43-22. Miami would hold 21-point leads at 45-24 and 47-26. Northern Illinois would get as close a 15 as Miami rolled to the 66-51 win. The RedHawks scored 44 second-half points and shot 57.1 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes of play.

Tim Pollitz paced Miami on the boards with seven rebounds, while Dierkers had six rebounds and a game-high four assists.

Anderson led the Huskies with 16 points.

Miami continues a two-game road stretch when it travels to Ball State for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 2.