03/18/26 11:06:00
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03/18 23:05 CDT Miami (Ohio) makes a March Madness statement with an 89-79 win
over SMU in the First Four
Miami (Ohio) makes a March Madness statement with an 89-79 win over SMU in the
First Four
By JEFF WALLNER
Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) --- Eian Elmer scored 22 points and Miami (Ohio) beat SMU
89-79 on Wednesday night in the First Four for its first NCAA Tournament
victory in 27 years.
Elmer went 6 of 9 from 3-point range as the 11th-seeded RedHawks (32-1),
unbeaten during the regular season, advanced in the Midwest Region to play No.
6 seed Tennessee.
Brant Byers added 19 points, including four 3s, and Luke Skaljac had 17 points
for Miami, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. The RedHawks
finished 16 of 41 from 3-point range.
Jaden Toombs led SMU (20-14) with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jaron Pierre Jr.
scored 18 points and Boopie Miller had 15 for the Mustangs.
Miami went 31-0 during a captivating regular season --- the only Division I
team to go unbeaten in 2025-26 and just the eighth undefeated regular season in
the past 50 years.
But the RedHawks lost their MAC Tournament opener to UMass, putting their NCAA
Tournament hopes in jeopardy because of a schedule that ranked 339th in overall
strength and featured no Quadrant 1 games.
Some analysts and critics questioned whether they belonged in the field with an
at-large bid, but Miami silenced some skeptics Wednesday with a rousing victory
over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
Peter Suder had the assist of the night when he gathered an outlet pass from
Skaljac and bounced a pass across the paint to Elmer, who caught it and scored
with one hand to put the RedHawks ahead 20-13.
Suder dished out six assists.
Elmer had 14 points and went 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half. Byers
hit back-to-back 3s to give Miami an 11-point lead.
SMU missed its first seven 3-point attempts before Pierre connected with 7:02
remaining in the first half. The Mustangs went 5 of 19 from long distance on
the night.
Almar Atlason hit a pair of 3s to give the RedHawks a 63-50 advantage early in
the second half. He scored 12 points.
Skaljac's transition 3 extended Miami's lead to 71-57.
SMU had a decided size advantage, but foul trouble negated some of that.
Mustangs 7-foot-2 center Samet Yigitoglu fouled out with 1:31 remaining. He
finished with eight points and six rebounds.
Up next
Miami plays Tennessee on Friday in Philadelphia.
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AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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