by The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio , Akron Beacon Journal

As a result, Miami University (8-5, 1-0) claimed a 64-51 overtime victory over the Zips on Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 2,369 at Millett Hall in Oxford in the Mid - American Conference opener for both teams.

The Zips (8-6, 0-1) dug themselves an immediate hole by falling behind 8-0 in the opening six minutes. They eventually worked their way back into contention and the final 34 minutes of regulation featured many lead changes and ties before ending in a 48-48 deadlock.

But the UA offensive woes resurfaced in the five-minute overtime, when the Zips were outscored 16-3.

"We had some stretches where we were really good and we had a few we weren't so good," UA coach Keith Dambrot said. "We are good enough defensively to win. We have to stay away from bad moments. We haven't shown the ability to han

dle severe adversity."

The low score was expected because it was a matchup of the two teams that are giving up the fewest points per game in the MAC. Coming in, the RedHawks were first at 59.8, and the Zips were second at 60.5.

The score was tied at 41-41 when the Zips' Steve McNees made a 3-pointer with 3:06 left. Michael Bramos got Miami back to 44-43 with two foul shots.

A 12-footer by Brett McKnight with 2:16 left moved the Zips' lead back to three points at 46-43, but Carl Richburg of the RedHawks made a 3-pointer at 1:46 to make it 46-46.

Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens of the Zips sank two foul shots with 34 seconds remaining, but a drive by Richburg with 24 seconds left made it 48-48.

The Zips had the final possession in regulation, but could not score.

In the overtime, Bramos scored four quick points and the RedHawks poured it on. The only basket in the overtime for UA was a 3-pointer by McKnight.

"We were right there to win. We were one stop away," Dambrot said. "I am proud of our guys. We have a lot of growth. We are not where we want to be yet.

"We competed hard in a very difficult spot and rallied back."

For the Zips, Hitchens led the way with 12 points and six assists. McKnight added 10 points and matched his career high with seven rebounds.

Freshman forward Julian Mavunga came off the bench to lead Miami with a career-high 14 points. Bramos, who was 0-of-7 behind the arc, had 12 points and seven rebounds. Richburg, who was averaging 2.8 points, had 12 points and three assists.

In the first half, the Zips scrambled back from that early 8-0 deficit to get back to 19-19 at the end.

In the second half, UA fell behind 28-22 before consecutive 3-pointers by Darryl Roberts and Hitchens made it 28-28.

The largest margin between the two teams for the rest of regulation was four points.

The Zips have had shooting problems all season, and it continued against Miami. UA made only 18-of-57 shots for 31.6 percent. On 3-pointers, UA was 6-of-22 for 27.3 percent.

The Zips continue play in the MAC on Tuesday night at Rhodes Arena against the University at Buffalo.

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