Redhawks hold off Demons in nailbiter, 69-68 - NSUDemons.com

NATCHITOCHES -- With Eric Polilitz getting 12 of his 16 points as Miami (Ohio) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit, the visiting Redhawks withstood six shots to tie or take the lead in the closing minutes by Northwestern State, including one just before the final buzzer of Miami’s 69-68 intersectional college basketball victory Tuesday night.

Miami (7-4), playing for the first time in 10 days, completed a season sweep over Northwestern State (8-6). The Demons were drubbed 94-66 on Dec. 6 at Miami, but dominated the first half in the rematch. The Redhawks opened the second half with an 18-5 run, hitting 8 of their first 11 shots from the field, and never trailed again.

Teammate Rodney Haddix matched the game-high 16 points by Pollitz. Michael Bramos added 13 and Tyler Dierkers 10, all after halftime.

Devin White scored 15 to lead Northwestern, which was hampered by 3 of 16 aim on 3-point shots. The Demons missed five 3-pointers down the stretch, four which would have let them regain the lead, as NSU trailed by only one point on seven occasions but never overcame Miami’s edge.

“We were in position to get back in front so many times, and we got good looks, but they just didn’t go down,” said NSU coach Mike McConathy. “Miami did what an extremely well-coached, veteran team can do with that run to open the second half. They ran their sets very effectively, got great looks, and we helped them along with a round of turnovers when we had the ball.

“But to our credit, we fought back. We didn’t fold. We battled and showed some tenacity and gave ourselves the chance to win against a team that had clubbed us by 28 three weeks ago,” he said. “I’m proud of our effort, I am proud of the improvement we made from the first Miami game until tonight, and especially the way we came back and performed after the meltdown at Arkansas on Saturday night.”

Northwestern was blasted 95-56 Saturday at Arkansas, hastening its demise with 20 first-half turnovers and 29 in the game, many of those unforced errors. Tuesday night, NSU had 8 turnovers at halftime while holding a 39-29 advantage. They suffered 6 turnovers as Miami surged into a 47-44 lead over the first 5:28 of the second period, but had only 4 more in the final 14:32.

Miami never relinquished the lead following its game-changing run. The Redhawks were up by 7, 56-49, on a layup by Pollitz with 12 minutes left but the margin wavered between 1-3 points during the game’s last 9:37, except for a minute when Miami held a 69-64 advantage from 2:13 to 1:11, when Logan McConathy sank two free throws.

After a steal by C.J. Clark with 41 seconds to go, the Demons worked for a 12-foot jumper by White that drew them within 69-68 with 20 seconds left. Keithan Hancock rebounded a missed 1-and-1 free throw with 9 seconds left and NSU got a timeout with 6.2 left on the clock.

The Demons had a shot to win. Backup point guard Logan McConathy drove the right side of the lane but his running, contested bank shot from 6 feet out was off target just before the final horn as the Redhawks blanketed the Demons’ most dangerous scorers.

The outcome was the first loss in five home games for Northwestern, which plays Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma State in its final non-conference outing of the season. NSU opens Southland Conference play at home Jan. 10 against Nicholls.