FORT MYERS, FL – Kam Craft and Peter Suder scored 18 points apiece to lead Miami (Ohio) past Siena Basketball 70-58 in a Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Division matchup at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
 
Eian Elmer added 15 points for Miami (3-2) which advances to face Mercer in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Division Championship Game Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. The Bears defeated Jacksonville 90-89 in overtime in their matchup.
 
Major Freeman led four players in double figures with 15 points for Siena (3-3) who will face Jacksonville in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Division Third Place Game Tuesday at 11 a.m.
 
Miami (Ohio) led throughout and by as many as 13 points to give Travis Steele his milestone 100^th career head coaching victory. The Redhawks scored 12 straight early on to open a quick 16-4 lead just over six minutes in, with Suder contributing nine of the points.
 
Siena scored eight in a row midway through the stanza to rally back within four, but the Redhawks extended their lead back to 11 at 32-21 at the break. The Saints shot just 26% (7-27) from the field in the first half.
 
Miami (Ohio) held Siena at arm's length throughout the second half. The Saints never got any closer than five on several occasions, as they dropped their third straight following three consecutive wins to open the season.
 
Craft, who was teammates with Reid Ducharme last season at Xavier, scored 13 of his points in the second half including several back-breaking threes down the stretch for the Redhawks, which made 10 triples. Miami (Ohio) entered the day ranked 23^rd nationally in threes (10.8).
 
Suder shot 7-9 from the field for Miami (Ohio) which held decided advantages in both rebounding (37-27) as well as points off turnovers (22-7), despite each team committing an equal 13 miscues.
 
Justice Shoats and Brendan Coyle contributed 12 points apiece for Siena which dropped its second straight Thanksgiving Week Florida Tournament opener to a MAC school. Coyle shot 4-8 from distance for the Saints who attempted 29 threes to just 25 two-point attempts. Ducharme added 10 points albeit on just 3-10 shooting for Siena, which connected at only a 35% clip overall against a Redhawks squad which had allowed its opponent to shoot 50.9% entering play.
 
The Saints will now look to bounce back vs. Jacksonville program whom they are set to meet for the first time in 29 years. The Dolphins swept both ends of a home-and-home series during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons in the only previous matchups between the schools.
 
This postgame recap is proudly presented by The Brothers that just do Gutters, a proud partner of Siena Athletics. Trust the team that always comes through – on the court and for your home.