Mavunga a monster for Miami

Sophomore ties career best totals in points (18) and rebounds (12) in loss to Xavier.

Miami forward Julian Mavunga looks for a teammate under the Miami basket as Xavier's Dante' Jackson and Kenny Frease defend in the first half at the Cintas Center Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009.

Staff photo by E.L. Hubbard Miami forward Julian Mavunga looks for a teammate under the Miami basket as Xavier's Dante' Jackson and Kenny Frease defend in the first half at the Cintas Center Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009.

ENLARGE PHOTO

By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer Updated 7:49 AM Thursday, December 24, 2009

CINCINNATI — Julian Mavunga turned in a monster performance Wednesday night, Dec. 23, then turned into a spectator.

The Miami University sophomore tied his career-best totals in points (18) and rebounds (12) against host Xavier, but fouled out with 2:10 left and watched the RedHawks men’s basketball team drop a 70-67 decision at the Cintas Center.

“It was very tough to sit there,” Mavunga said. “I was trying to do as much as I could, yelling and screaming and encouraging the guys.”

The 6-foot-8 Indianapolis native did plenty while he was on the court. He was 6-of-12 from the floor (2-of-5 from 3-point range) and 4-of-4 at the line, adding three assists and three blocks in 33 minutes.

“After his horrendous start, he really started playing well,” MU coach Charlie Coles said. “I thought he was dominant out on the floor. I don’t think he left any doubt who was the man down low tonight.”

Mavunga said Coles has motivated him to step up his game.

“He specifically told me, ‘When you play, you don’t know how tough you are to stop,’ ” Mavunga said. “I had to give more effort. I gave everything I had out there tonight.”

He credited his teammates for his big stats.

“If I don’t have guys like Kenny Hayes out there, I don’t get 18 points,” Mavunga said. “I get maybe five points and four rebounds. My teammates get me the ball.”

Not Nick’s night

Miami junior Nick Winbush came off the bench for the first time this season and racked up four fouls in the first half. He came back on the court with 13:09 remaining, then fouled out 47 seconds later.

Winbush finished with three points and one rebound in eight minutes.

Shaky Musketeers

Xavier missed four free throws in the last four minutes, including a pair of one-and-ones in the final 2:10. The Musketeers also squandered a 38-21 lead and couldn’t get the ball inbounds in the closing seconds, allowing Miami to attempt a 3-pointer.

“It’s disappointing from our perspective,” XU coach Chris Mack said. “We sort of gave them life in the second half. I didn’t think we made as many correct plays down the stretch as we needed to, but we were able to make a few more than we did last Saturday against Butler. We just have to get better in those end-game situations.”

Jordan Crawford (19), Mark Lyons (13) and Jason Love (11) paced Xavier’s scoring. Seven-footer Kenny Frease grabbed a career-high 11 boards.

The Musketeers committed a season-low eight turnovers. They’re now 7-0 this season when they score at least 70 points.

Another close loss

Miami is 3-9 this year but has five losses by seven points or fewer.

Senior guard Kenny Hayes, who scored a season-high 24 points, said it’s getting frustrating.

“I’m tired of losing,” Hayes said. “We were this close. It’s tough because we played with a lot of energy tonight. We seem to play with more energy against the better teams. Against other teams, we play terrible.”

Hayes had 14 points in the second half against Xavier and misfired on a last-second trey.

“I was trying to make plays,” Hayes said. “Coach (Jermaine) Henderson told me in the huddle, ‘Don’t pass the ball. Shoot it.’ I was doing what I could.”

Up next

Miami is idle until traveling to Colorado on Jan. 5. Xavier hosts LSU on Tuesday night.

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