Men's Hoops Edges Providence, 60-57
Jan 29, 2003
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) – Darius Rice scored 21 of his game-high 26 pointsin the second half as Miami beat Providence 60-57 on Wednesday.
After Rice hit two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining, Providence’sDonnie McGrath missed a desperation jumper in the final seconds to preserve thewin for the Hurricanes (9-8, 2-4 Big East).
Romuald Augustin led the Friars with 15 points, all of them coming from his5-of-9 shooting behind the 3-point arc. Marcus Douthit and Ryan Gomes eachadded 12 for Providence (9-8, 2-4).
Rice hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Miami a 47-46 lead with 9:51remaining – their first of the game. After a Sheiku Kabba basket, Rice hitanother 3-pointer with 7:42 remaining to put the Hurricanes up 50-48.
Eric Wilkins’ steal and dunk with 1:42 remaining put Miami ahead 57-55, andthe Hurricanes kept the lead the rest of the way.
The Hurricanes were coming off a 54-49 loss to Syracuse Sunday, in whichthey were held scoreless in the final 8:38. They picked up where they left offin the first half Wednesday, hitting just two field goals in the first 9:54.
The Friars took advantage with a 10-2 run to start the game, but theHurricanes came right back with a 10-3 run to cut the lead to one. James Jones,who scored all 11 of his points in the first half, scored Miami’s first fourpoints on free throws.
Both teams struggled for the rest of the half, but were helped by multipleopportunities. They combined for 55 rebounds in the half, 23 of them on theoffensive end. Gomes finished with a game-high 15 rebounds, while Miami’s GaryHamilton grabbed 12 rebounds.
Providence led 30-28 at halftime.
