Canes win, staying perfect
No. 6 UM gets 1st-round victory over Hawaii at Diamond Head Classic.
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 in a first-round game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. Anthony Lawrence II added 11 points 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 fallaway 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 second-half runs.
Miami, one of four remaining undefeated teams in the country, led by as many as 20 points late in the second half.
After allowing the Rainbow Warriors to shoot 45.8 percent from the field in the first half, the Hurricanes clamped down on the defensive end after intermission. Hawaii was just 10 of 26 on field goals (38.5 percent) in the second half and finished at 42 percent for the game.
“They showed why they’re a good team,” Hawaii coach Eran Ganot said. “I’m disappointed in our defensive effort in the second half. I think they made some changes to take us out of our offensive rhythm, which kind of carried over into our defensive half.”
Sheriff Drammeh had 17 points and Leland Green added 10 for the Rainbow Warriors, who committed 16 turnovers — eight in each half. The score was tied at 33 at halftime. There were eight ties and 12 lead changes.
The Hurricanes dominated the interior, outscoring the Rainbow Warriors 44-20 in the paint. Huell, a 6-foot-11 sophomore forward, shot 7 of 10 from the field and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
“We were just trying to get it down low to the big men, so they could work on the blocks and score in the post,” Newton said.
The game, the last of four quarterfinals Friday, tipped off at approximately 1:25 a.m. Eastern time, but Newton said it wasn’t an issue.
“I don’t think so, because we’re the type of guys that are up all times of the night sometimes, so sometimes though we’d die to play in games like this,” Newtown said.
It was a different story for his coach, however. “I don’t think it affected our players, but it sure affected me. I’m exhausted right now. I’d like to be in bed and asleep,” Larranaga said.
Miami was scheduled to play New Mexico State in a championship semifinal late Saturday night.
Minnesota 95, FAU 60: Senior guard Nate Mason scored 17 points before being sidelined by an ankle injury in the second half, leading the Gophers (11-3) to a rout of the Owls (6-6) in Minneapolis.
Jordan Murphy scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Minnesota, extending the nation’s longest double-double streak to 14 games. Amir Coffey and Reggie Lynch each scored 11 for the Gophers.
Gerdarius Troutman led the Owls with 18 points, while Ronald Delph scored 17 and Jailyn Ingram had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Mason connected on his first three 3-pointers before the game was five minutes old. The third was part of an 18-0 run that staked the Gophers to a 28-7 lead.
The Owls have played two teams from major conferences and have been blown out in both. Coming off a 90-54 loss at Texas Tech on Tuesday, the Owls’ defense wasn’t up to the test at Minnesota.