No.11 UM stops La Salle
Walker misses mark in homecoming, but Huell saves Canes.
Prized fresh
READING, PA. — man Lonnie Walker IV struggled in his return home, but Dewan Huell scored 16 points and No. 11 Miami did just enough to get by La Salle 57-46 on Wednesday night and remain unbeaten.
Part of Miami’s recruiting pitch for the projected NBA lottery pick was a game in his hometown. Walker was held to five points and 2-of-8 shooting, and his woes were
contagious. Miami (4-0) shot 37 percent from the field and the Explorers were 0 of 15 from 3-point range.
B.J. Johnson scored 16 points on 6-of-20 shooting and Pookie Powell added 15 on 5-of-15 from the field for La Salle (3-3) in its third straight loss.
La Salle traveledabout 60 miles from campus, but it was a Miami home game and
the fans were solidly behind their local hero’s team.
Once a bustling railroad and mill town of 120,000, Reading has been in a steady decline for decades. It ranked as the poorest city in the nation in the 2010 Census based on median house- hold income. Population has plummeted to under 88,000.
Walke r an d his Re ad- ing High School team had given the city something to be proud of in March, win- ning its first state title.
He missed his first three shots before finally bringing the crowd to its feet with a nifty crossover dribble and bank shot in the lane in the
final seconds of an ugly first half that made it 19-19.
Walker fed Bruce Brown Jr. for a 3-pointer with 3:23 left to put Miami up 49-39 during an 8-0 run. Florida State 98, Kennesaw State 79: Phil Cofer tied a career-high with 21 points and the host Seminoles (4-0) remained unbeaten.
Cofer scored the Semi
noles’ first seven points as they opened the game with a 9-0 run and led by as many as 19 (51-30) late in the first half.
Kennesaw State cut the margin to 54-42 at halftime. But Florida State (4-0) broke it open again with a 10-0 run and led by as many as 25 (83-58) with 8:22 remaining. Missouri State 71, Florida At l antic 60: Jarrid Rhodes and Alize Johnson each scored 14 points as Missouri State beat FAU for fifth
place in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero. FAU (2-3) was led by Gerdarius Troutman’s 16 points and four 3-pointers.