DAYTON, Ohio — Eian Elmer scored 22 points and Miami (Ohio) beat SMU 89-79 on Wednesday night in the First Four for its first NCAA Tournament victory in 27 years.

Elmer went 6 of 9 from 3-point range as the 11th-seeded RedHawks (32-1), undefeated during the regular season, advanced in the Midwest Region to play No. 6 seed Tennessee on Friday in Philadelphia.

Brant Byers added 19 points, including four 3s, and Luke Skaljac had 17 points for Miami, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. The RedHawks finished 16 of 41 from 3-point range.

“The message I gave our guys before the game was they should leave no doubt with who the more attacking team was,” Miami (Ohio) coach Travis Steele said. “I thought that was very evident from the jump ball all the way to the end of the game.”

Jaden Toombs led SMU (20-14) with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 18 points and Boopie Miller had 15 for the Mustangs, who reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years. They’re still looking for their first victory in the event since 1988.

Miami went 31-0 during a captivating regular season — the only Division I team to go unbeaten in 2025-26 and just the nation’s eighth undefeated regular season in the past 50 years.

But the RedHawks lost their MAC Tournament opener to UMass, putting their NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy because of a schedule that ranked 339th in overall strength and featured no Quadrant 1 games.

Some analysts and critics questioned whether they belonged in the field with an at-large bid, but Miami silenced some skeptics Wednesday with a rousing victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

“We’re not really focused on proving whether we belong, honestly,” Elmer said. “Everybody in the locker room thinks we do. I just think if anything we’re just going to go out there, play our hardest and have fun.”

Elmer had 14 points and went 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half. Byers hit back-to-back 3s to give Miami an 11-point lead.

“They put five guys on the court that can shoot the 3, so they’re hard to guard,” SMU coach Andy Enfield said. “We outscored them in the paint 46-20 tonight, which was our game plan to really try to score the ball in the lane.”

SMU missed its first seven 3-point attempts before Pierre connected with 7:02 remaining in the first half. The Mustangs went 5 of 19 from long distance.

Almar Atlason hit a pair of 3s to give the RedHawks a 63-50 advantage early in the second half. He scored 12 points.

Skaljac’s transition 3 extended Miami’s lead to 71-57.

SMU had a size advantage, but foul trouble negated some of that. Mustangs 7-foot-2 center Samet Yigitoglu fouled out with 1:31 remaining. He finished with eight points and six rebounds.

The undersized RedHawks matched SMU with 35 rebounds and 17 second-chance points.

“Listen, our group is uber-confident,” Steele said. “We know we belong. I told our guys afterwards, man, I’m happy, but the job is not finished. We want to continue to advance in this thing.”

Magic man

Peter Suder had the assist of the night when he gathered an outlet pass from Skaljac and bounced a pass across the paint to Elmer, who caught it and scored with one hand to put the RedHawks ahead 20-13.

“That’s like some March magic,” Skaljac said.

Suder had six assists, but that one caught Elmer by surprise.

“I was expecting a lob,” he said. “Peter was running full speed so I was just trailing. He made an amazing pass, and I got lucky, honestly.”

Steele hopes the RedHawks’ victory will earn more respect for mid-major programs.

“I mean, we had to basically be perfect in the whole regular season to get an at-large,” he said. “There’s a lot of good teams. Those teams can compete with anybody, but they don’t get the opportunities in the regular season to put them in a position to where they can get an at-large bid.”

With the First Four in Dayton, fewer than 50 miles from Miami’s campus, the crowd was decidedly in the RedHawks’ favor.

“Home game for Miami,” Enfield said. “They probably had 12,000 fans here, it felt like. So they were loud and they fed off the energy.”

A defiant rapper testified on Tuesday that he exercised free speech when he released music videos featuring images of Ohio deputies raiding his home, saying any suffering they claim in a lawsuit is due to “their mistake.”

Several Adams County sheriff’s deputies are suing Afroman, claiming they were needlessly harmed by music videos, most notably “Lemon Pound Cake,” which included security camera footage taken in 2022 when they served a search warrant looking for drugs at the performer’s home.

None were found and charges were never filed against the “Because I Got High” rapper, who was born Joseph Foreman.

Afroman took the witness stand wearing an American flag-patterned suit and said his actions are protected under the First Amendment.

“I got freedom of speech,” he told jurors. “After they run around my house with guns, kicked down my door, I got the right to kick a can in my backyard, use my freedom of speech, turn my bad times into a good time.”

“Yes I do, and I think I’m a sport for doing so because I don’t go to their house, kick down their doors, flip them off on their surveillance cameras, then try to play the victim and sue them,” he said.

The rapper said any hardships suffered by the deputies should be pinned on law enforcement.

“(This is all of) their fault for coming in my house in the first place,” the 51-year-old artist testified.

“So if they hadn’t come in my house, their children wouldn’t be saying nothing. None of this would be going on if they had did their research and did things right. So all of this is their fault, and now they want to sue me for their mistake.”

Asked if there’s anything that could “change your mind” about his creative actions, an indignant Afroman put it all back on law enforcement.

“Is there anything that can change my mind about the fact that they shouldn’t have been at my house in the first place?” Afroman rhetorically said.

“Is there anything that can change my mind about how my money shouldn’t have been touched in the first place? No.”

An Ohio Ford employee is dead after being trapped and crushed by a malfunctioning industrial machine at a company plant this week. 

The incident unfolded around 9:45 a.m. on Monday, when authorities were called to Ford’s Sharonville plant on E. Sharon Road regarding reports of an industrial accident, according to FOX 19.

Upon arriving at the plant, authorities reportedly encountered a press machine that was undergoing routine maintenance when it malfunctioned, causing it to turn on and pin the worker. 

First responders worked to perform life-saving measures on the worker once he was pulled from the machine before transporting him to Bethesda North Hospital.

The worker was later pronounced dead at the hospital, according to FOX 19.

The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office reportedly identified the victim as 61-year-old Gregory Knopf. 

“There were multiple witnesses to this incident and it is considered an industrial accident at this time,” Sharonville police said, according to FOX 19. 

The incident reportedly remains under investigation by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Ford Motor Company’s administrative staff.

“A tragic incident today resulted in the death of an employee at Sharonville Transmission Plant,” a Ford spokesperson said in a statement to WCPO. 

“We are in contact with the family of the individual and we’re working to support them through this difficult time. Our deepest condolences are with the friends and family of our team member. Counseling services are available for our employees at the plant. Safety is our highest priority and we are investigating the incident. We would also like to thank our community first responders.”

Ford Motor Company and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.