OXFORD — Dan Luers has found a home closer to home through Defiance College, then Eastern Illinois, and now Miami.
And it all came full circle for the RedHawks graduate transfer on Monday night.
Luers scored a game-high 20 points, had two blocks and shot 7 of 11 from the floor — including 3 of 4 from 3-point range — to help steamroll Miami past Defiance 141-58 at Millett Hall.
“I started out college basketball there,” said Luers, a 2020 Fenwick graduate who played for the now-NAIA school his freshman season. “I loved my time there. I still have friends that I talk to from there. Defiance is obviously a special place for me.
“But, I mean, you’ve got to get it done. So, it was great to come out and win tonight, either way.”
It was a record-breaking win.
The RedHawks tallied 74 points in the first half, the most scored in a half in program history. They finished it off by scoring 141 — breaking the previous record of 123 that was scored against Midway on Nov. 29, 2017.
Who broke the record? Luers.
“I didn’t really know that until a couple minutes ago,” Luers said of finding out that he eclipsed Miami’s program record of total points in a game by hitting a free throw to give the RedHawks a 124-44 lead with 7:38 left to play.
“That’s obviously pretty cool,” Luers added. “I was the one to do it, but it really could have been any of us.
“Everybody just plays for each other. I think that’s the biggest thing about our team is it’s so unselfish. Everyone just cares for one another. Nobody cares who scores, as long as we get the job done.”
Miami third-year coach Travis Steele said that’s why Luers was named one of the team captains before the start of the season.
“Life comes full circle in a lot of ways,” Steele said. “Dan’s a good player, but he’s an even better person. Words probably won’t do it justice what his character is. Went to Bishop Fenwick High School, and went to Defiance, and then Eastern Illinois. He started at Eastern Illinois last year. Then he comes here, and he’s not playing as much. Some games he doesn’t play. That’s hard.
“He threw his self on scout team one day, and I didn’t ask him to go on scout team,” Steele added. “Usually, it’s our walk-ons. And he just said, ‘Hey, listen. I want to be on the scout team.’ I was like, ‘Man. Wow. That’s incredible.’
“Just the sacrifice that he makes as the teammate that he is. Dan is an incredible leader. He’s an incredible teammate. He has a huge, huge impact on our team, and that can’t go understated.
“Those guys know how much he wants to win and how much he cares about them. I love Dan. I would do anything for Dan Luers — anything.”
In his one season with Defiance, Luers averaged 16.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. As a junior at Eastern Illinois, he appeared in all 32 games averaging 6.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists a game.
“Today was definitely a lot of fun,” Luers said. “It was special, but it’s really special because of the group of guys we have. We have a really special group of guys, and I think that when we came back from Christmas, a lot times you can have a lull. But we really got right back to work — kind of picked up where we left off. I think that’s part of the reason why we played well today is because we took it very seriously. We were very serious, had good preparation, and then we just came out and executed today.
“Top to bottom, we’re very talented. We just have to kind of stay together and stay the course throughout the conference season. I think we’ll be fine.”
Miami (8-4) begins Mid-American Conference play against Buffalo on Saturday at 1 p.m. inside Millett Hall.
