Ohio
Miami (Ohio) cruises past SMU to roll in March Madness First Four matchup
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.”
Four game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament. Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
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.”
UPDATE 6/30/26 @ 6:30 p.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) – Four people are in custody Tuesday after a search found 16 children inside a home in the Hamden area of Vinton County, officials said during a news conference.
“This is pure evil what we saw down here today,” said Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, who described it as one of the worst scenes he has ever seen.
It happened in the 100 block of Ohmer Street.
Two children had to be life-flighted to trauma centers, and the victims are being treated at hospitals throughout Ohio.
Their ages range from one and a half to 18 years old.
“Lives were in danger,” officials said during the news conference, saying it has been a long-term investigation.
They said there is a secondary investigation underway at the property.
The suspects are set to be arraigned at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Vinton County Common Pleas Court.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office, the Vinton County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are among the investigators.
We have a crew at the scene working to get more details. Keep checking the WSAZ app for the latest.
ORIGINAL STORY
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) – A news conference is scheduled Tuesday evening about a search warrant that was executed at a home in the Hamden area of Vinton County.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson’s office made that announcement, saying the news conference is scheduled at 6 p.m. in McArthur, Ohio.
Along with Wilson, Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain, Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer and members of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are set to attend the news conference.
The search warrant was executed at a home along Ohmer Street, with a heavy law enforcement presence reported throughout the day.
Additional details are unavailable now, but we have a crew headed to the scene.
Keep checking the WSAZ app for the latest.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
Central Ohio 2026 summer weather forecast
Weather forecasts call for a hotter- and drier-than-normal summer in the region.
The Columbus Dispatch
Central Ohio is under an extreme heat warning starting at noon due to dangerously hot conditions.
The National Weather Service in Wilmington issued the extreme heat warning from noon June 30 to 8 p.m. July 2 in central and south central Ohio as well as parts of Kentucky. The heat index will rise to about 105 degrees, the weather service said.
On June 30, there will be sunny skies and a high near 95 degrees in Columbus, according to a forecast by the weather service. The heat index will reach about 106 degrees.
Columbus will see a high of 98 both July 1 and July 2, with a heat index as high as 106 on July 2, the weather service said.
People should drink plenty of fluids, stay in air conditioned rooms and out of the sun and check on their relatives and neighbors.
People should not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles because car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in minutes, the weather service said.
Cooling centers will open June 30, and the city has waived bus fares and public pool entry fees during the heat wave.
Public safety and breaking news reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com
Two people were found dead in a vehicle at a park in North Canton, Ohio, authorities said.
The North Canton Police Department said in a news release on Facebook that officers were called to Eastwoods Park around 11 a.m. on Sunday for reports of a suspicious vehicle. When officers arrived, they found a Honda with its engine running and two unresponsive people inside.
The two people, a 24-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, were pronounced dead at the scene. They have not been identified as of Monday night.
Police said the preliminary findings show carbon monoxide levels in the vehicle were at levels exceeding what is considered safe. The North Canton Fire Department responded to the scene to help confirm the findings.
“At this time, there are no signs of foul play and no indication of violence or struggle associated with this incident,” North Canton police said in the news release.
The Stark County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death for the two people. No other information was released by law enforcement.
“This remains an active investigation, and no further information is available at this time,” the news release said.
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