UM pulls away, stays unbeaten

HONOLULU Miami turned up the pressure in the second half to turn away Hawaii and remain unbeaten.

Ja’Quan Newton and Dewan Huell scored 16 points apiece and the No. 6 Hurricanes pulled away for a 75-57 victory late Friday night in a first-round game of the Diamond Head Classic.

Anthony Lawrence II added 11 for the Hurricanes (10-0), who outscored the Rainbow Warriors (7-3) 42-24 in the second half.

Miami shot 69.6 percent from the field in the second half. It took the lead for good on Newton’s fall-away 10-footer that put his team ahead 40-38 with 16:40 to play.

The Hurricanes went on an 11-1 run to take a 48-39 lead following Bruce Brown Jr.’s straightaway 3-pointer and capped a 9-0 run a few minutes later with Lonnie Walker IV’s layup off an assist from Brown that stretched their lead to 57-44.

“I thought our defense created that. We got some stops and then got some baskets in the open court,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said of his team’s secondhalf runs.

Miami, one of four remaining undefeated teams in the country, led by as many as 20 points late in the second half.

Sheriff Drammeh had 17 points and Leland Green added 10 for the Rainbow Warriors, who committed 16 turnovers — eight in each half.

Miami plays New Mexico State in a championship semifinal Saturday at 10 p.m.