S.C. State Defeats Miami (Ohio) 71-67

OXFORD, Ohio –Junior guard Eric Eaves scored a team-high 23 points to lead South Carolina State to an 71-67 victory over Miami(Ohio) Saturday (Jan. 2) at Millett Hall Arena.

Eaves came off the bench to hit 7-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the line. The Bulldogs (6-10) closed out the three-game Midwest swing with a much needed victory over a talented MAC opponent in non-conference action.

Sophomore guard Ed Stephens finished with 13, while senior guard/forward Gabriel McCray chipped in 10 and five rebounds in the win.

Despite a lofty 17 turnovers by the Bulldogs, SC State dominated the boards out-rebounding Miami (Ohio) 38-28 and shot 77.8% (28-of-36) from the free-throw line, while scoring 34 points from bench play.

Geovonie McKnight paced Miami (6-7) with a career-high 24 points. Eric Washington added 16.

Miami (Ohio) led 37-26 at intermission and by as many as 12 early in the second half.

Late in the second-half South Carolina State led by eight, 59-67, with 1:29 to go. LJ Livingston scored on a dunk, then McKnight tipped one in and Rod Mills made a pair at the line to get within two, 67-65, with 28 seconds left.

After a pair of free throws by Bulldog sophomore guard Ty Soloman, Mills scored on another tip-in with three seconds left. Stephens then tossed in a pair of free-throws from the charity stripe to seal the victory for South Carolina State.

South Carolina State returns home to open up conference Saturday (Jan.9) against NC Central in a pivotal MEAC doubleheader. Tipoff is 4 p.m., immediately following the women's contest at 2 p.m. at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

For more information on SC State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com

BOX SCORE