National Basketball Association
Miami-Florida 86, Minnesota 81
When: 9:15 PM ET, Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
# Keith Kimbell, # Larry Scirotto, # Robert Riley
Attendance:
14625
By The Sports Xchange
MINNEAPOLIS -- Miami's lead over Minnesota dwindled to just two points late in the second half in a loud, excited Williams Arena.
On the next possession, Hurricanes center Dewan Huell came through with a dunk to somewhat quiet the boisterous Gophers crowd. Tenth-ranked Miami scored seven points in a row and provided a definitive answer in its first big test of the season.
Huell had 23 points, and Bruce Brown Jr. had 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the Hurricanes beat No. 12 Minnesota 86-81 Wednesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
"We just said basketball is a game of runs," Brown said. "They're going to go on a run. We're going to go on a run. We were all calm in the huddle. We've been in this situation before in Virginia last year, so I think we handled it really well."
Dejan Vasiljevic had 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range for Miami, which used its four-guard lineup and hot shooting to give the Gophers fits. The Hurricanes (6-0) shot 50.7 percent from the field, including 55.9 percent in the second half, and were 10 of 25 from 3-point territory.
Miami took control with a 12-5 run early in the second half and led by as many as 12 points in their first true road game of the year.
Minnesota closed within 73-71, but the Hurricanes kept their composure with Brown taking control.
"We really have three point guards and I decided to start all of them in the second half," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. "Our objective was to try to create more ball screens situations for their bigs. If you let those big guys just hang around the basket, they get every rebound and block a lot of shots. We needed to spread them out a little bit. Those three guards are really good at attacking."
Amir Coffey had 23 points for Minnesota, but the Gophers (7-1) couldn't take advantage of their size advantage with Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy. Murphy, the reigning Big Ten player of the week, had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Lynch had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks.
"We got to defend better," Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said. "Whenever a team shoots 56 percent, you're not going to win the game. They made some tough ones. Maybe it was some execution by us, maybe it was talent by them."
The Hurricanes entered the game with a perfect record after four home games against Gardner-Webb, Navy, Florida A&M and North Florida, and one neutral-court game against La Salle.
"What has been pretty consistent for us has been our effort at the defensive end of the floor," Larranaga said. "I thought our defense was consistently good and I thought we shared the ball really well. We had 20 assists and only eight turnovers. That's a very good job of handling it."
Coffey sparked the Gophers at the end of the first half with 11 points in the final 4:40, including scoring a basket while sitting down for the final bucket of the half. Coffey drove to the hoop and was knocked down. The rebound from his shot fell right to him and he shot while sitting.
NOTES: Miami was the highest-ranked non-conference opponent to play at Minnesota since No. 4 Cincinnati in 1998. It was the second straight game against a ranked opponent for the Gophers. ... Minnesota G Dupree McBrayer missed the game with a right leg injury. Coach Richard Pitino said he has an infection. Freshman G Isaiah Washington made his first collegiate start and hit just one of his first 12 shots before finishing 6 of 17 for 14 points. ... Hurricanes G Bruce Brown Jr. left the game in the second half and was grabbing at his left wrist. He was tended to on the sideline and later returned to the game.
Top Game Performances
| Miami-Florida |
|
Minnesota |
|
Dewan Huell 23 |
Scoring |
Amir Coffey 23 |
|
Ja'Quan Newton 9 |
Assists |
Nate Mason 5 |
|
Bruce Brown 9 |
Rebounds |
Jordan Murphy 14 |
|
Dewan Huell 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Amir Coffey 7 |
|
Chris Lykes 3 |
Steals |
Amir Coffey 2 |
|
Ebuka Izundu 2 |
Blocks |
Reggie Lynch 7 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Miami-Florida
|
86 |
50.7 |
10-25 |
6-11 |
20 |
30 |
4 |
8 |
8 |
| Minnesota
|
81 |
44.4 |
5-16 |
20-26 |
12 |
39 |
12 |
4 |
12 |
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