Luke Skaljac forced overtime with a clutch bank shot and added five more points in the extra session to help keep No. 25 Miami (OH) unbeaten with a 107-101 win over host Kent State Tuesday night.
Peter Suder tallied 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Miami (20-0, 8-0 MAC), which remains undefeated along with No. 1 Arizona and No. 7 Nebraska. Eian Elmer added 25 points while Skaljac had 18 points and eight assists.
Miami became the first team in Mid-American Conference history to open a season with 20 wins, passing the previous mark of 19-0 set by 1975-76 Western Michigan.
Rob Whaley Jr. set career highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds to lead Kent State (14-5, 5-2), while Cian Medley added 23 points, Morgan Safford had 18 and Delrecco Gillespie netted 17 for the Golden Flashes.
Like they did against Buffalo at home just three days earlier, the RedHawks had to rally in the closing minutes from a five-point deficit. Skaljac hit a bank shot with six seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 92, and Quinn Woidke’s three at the buzzer was off the target.
The RedHawks scored the first six points of overtime, including Skaljac’s triple off a Suder assist, and Skaljac’s driving layup made it 100-94 with 2:45 left. Kent State got as close as 100-99 before Suder and Elmer responded with a layup and a dunk.
Miami led by 16 in the opening seconds of the second half, but Kent State used a 25-9 run to tie the game at 59. Kent State led 89-84 with just over two minutes remaining before Miami rallied.
The RedHawks led the nation in both field goal shooting (54%) and 3-point shooting (41.9%) entering Tuesday. Miami shot only 29% Tuesday but did convert 29 of 39 from inside the arc.
Miami denied Kent State its first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 23 Saint Mary’s on Feb. 24, 2008. More than 6,300 turned out to fill the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center on the Kent State campus.
Miami managed to silence the crowd early, scoring the first nine points of the game. The RedHawks built a 48-34 halftime lead by shooting 50% from the field while holding the Golden Flashes to 39.3%.
–Field Level Media
