Feb. 7, 2004

Box Score| Quotes| Notes

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) - Sophomore William Hatcher hit a three-pointer with 1:14 left to give Miami the lead for good in a 61-57 victory over Toledo on Saturday.

Hatcher's trey put the RedHawks (12-7, 8-3 Mid-American Conference) ahead 59-57. Senior Juby Johnson sealed the win with two foul shots with seven seconds left.

The RedHawks scored the final eight points after sophomore Sammy Villegas' dunk gave the Rockets (15-5, 9-3) a 57-53 lead with 2:33 left.

Toledo appeared to be in good shape after Villegas' dunk, but the RedHawks climbed to within a point on Josh Hausfeld's trey with 2:09 remaining. Villegas tried to restore UT's four-point cushion but missed on a three-pointer with 1:49 left. Hatcher then nailed his three-pointer from the right corner with the shot clock running out to give Miami a 59-57 advantage with 1:14 left on the clock.

After freshhman guard Justin Ingram's three-point attempt rimmed out with 55 seconds remaining, Hatcher missed the front end of a one-and-one but Miami grabbed the rebound. Johnson then made two free throws with seven seconds remaining for the final margin of victory.

The Rockets started out strong in the second half and held Miami to nine points in the first 13 minutes of the second stanza to take a 46-42 advantage for UT's largest lead of the game.

Johnson finished with 17 points. Hatcher scored 15 and hit 6-of-8 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 3-point attempts.

The Rockets went on a 15-6 run in the first seven minutes of the second half to tie the score at 39 on a three-pointer by Villegas. Neither team had more than a four-point lead the rest of the game.

Senior Keith Triplett led Toledo with 18 points. Villegas finished with 16.

Miami opened the game on 16-8 run and took a 33-24 halftime lead.

The Rockets return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 11 vs. Northern Illinois (7-13, 2-8 MAC) at Savage Hall. The Huskies will play at Central Michigan on Monday, Feb. 9 before coming to Toledo.