National Basketball Association
Miami-Florida 84, Middle Tennessee St. 81
When: 8:30 PM ET, Monday, December 25, 2017
Where: Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Officials:
# Larry Spaulding, # Chris Rastatter, # Darron George
Attendance:
6062
By The Sports Xchange
HONOLULU -- Practice didn't make perfect for No. 15 Miami on Saturday -- far from it -- so Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga tried a different approach, and it paid off in an 84-81 victory over Middle Tennessee in Monday's third-place game in the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Miami (11-1) got 21 points from Dewan Huell and 20 from Bruce Brown Jr. in rebounding from a 63-54 semifinal loss to New Mexico State. After shooting a season-worst 34 percent against NMSU, the 'Canes made 30 of 50 shots from the field against the Blue Raiders (8-4) after Larranaga gave his team the day off on Christmas Eve.
"We didn't do a practice," Larranaga said. "I think the mistake that I made, playing (two games) in 24 hours, I didn't rest the guys. We actually went and practiced (before the semifinal), because we knew New Mexico State did a lot of things we needed to prepare for.
"That was bad preparation. We should have just let our guys execute the fundamentals of the way we play. That was my mistake. I didn't want to make that same mistake again, and even though we got off to a slow start, after the first five minutes I thought we played really hard and really well."
In fact, it was an intensely competitive game on the part of both teams. After the score was tied three times in the last 5:23, Anthony Lawrence II put the Hurricanes ahead for good 70-69 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:21 left.
Nick King had 28 points for the Blue Raiders (8-4), with Antwain Johnson and Brandon Johnson contributing 12 each.
Miami made 18 of 25 shots in the second half (72 percent) and needed every bit of that performance.
"This was a very even game, and it showed," Larranaga said. "I thought our guys handled the pressure at the end when they were trying to press to get back into the game. We threw the touchdown pass twice, and it worked out both times."
Miami fell behind 19-6 before tightening up its defense and holding the Blue Raiders to one free throw between Brandon Walters' follow shot with 13:33 left in the half and King's ice-breaking drive to the hoop at 7:12.
Huell scored five straight points, the last two coming on an acrobatic spin move in the lane, to cut Middle Tennessee's advantage to 24-22 with five minutes left in the half, and Dejan Vasiljevic gave the 'Canes their first lead at 25-24 with a corner 3-pointer 11 seconds later.
Vasiljevic finished with 13 points for the 'Canes.
Paced by Huell's nine first-half points, Miami stretched its margin to 34-29 at the break. King matched Huell's halftime total to top the Blue Raiders.
Larranaga saw the three games in the Diamond Head Classic as a valuable learning experience.
"I wasn't so much concerned about our record as I was about how much we could learn about ourselves," Larranaga said. "In our previous 10 games, we've been ahead every game. In the second half a lot of times, we just have double-digit leads.
"Today and (Saturday) we were behind a fair amount of time, and it went back and forth. That really is what this tournament is all about, when you're being challenged. Hopefully that gets us ready for ACC play."
NOTES: G Dejan Vasiljevic made three of six 3-point attempts to continue his torrid shooting from long range. Over the past seven games, he is 20 for 39 from distance. ... Middle Tennessee and Miami met for the first time on Monday, with the Blue Raiders falling to 16-6 in neutral-site games since the start of the 2015-16 season. ... Miami played its final non-conference game of the regular season. The 'Canes open ACC play Dec. 30 at Pittsburgh.
Top Game Performances
| Middle Tennessee St. |
|
Miami-Florida |
|
Nick King 28 |
Scoring |
Dewan Huell 21 |
|
Antwain Johnson 4 |
Assists |
Ja'Quan Newton 6 |
|
Nick King 8 |
Rebounds |
Bruce Brown 6 |
|
Nick King 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Dewan Huell 7 |
|
Tyrik Dixon 1 |
Steals |
Bruce Brown 2 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Bruce Brown 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Middle Tennessee St.
|
81 |
51.9 |
7-15 |
20-24 |
15 |
23 |
0 |
2 |
11 |
| Miami-Florida
|
84 |
60.0 |
7-18 |
17-25 |
14 |
22 |
3 |
5 |
13 |
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