Miami (Ohio) is still perfect, but the No. 21 RedHawks (29-0, 16-0 MAC) nearly lost their title as the lone unbeaten team in Division I men’s college basketball Friday night in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Their head coach, Travis Steele, had already lost his temper.
At the end of the first half against Western Michigan (10-19, 4-12), a disgruntled Steele hurled words toward officials. He had to be held back by his own staff. His outburst resulted in a technical foul and culminated in him sending a speaker flying as he entered the tunnel toward the locker room.
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But Steele cooled off, and his RedHawks bounced back from trailing at the half for the sixth time this season — and then from falling behind nine points with 6:38 to go — to defeat the Broncos 69-67.
In the game’s waning seconds, freshman guard Trey Perry muscled through the paint to get up a left-handed layup that hit the rim twice before dropping in for the go-ahead basket with 0.4 seconds remaining.
This story is being updated.