No. 16/17 Hurricanes Cruise Past Florida Memorial, 71-43
Nov. 1, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Four players scored in double figures to lead the No. 16/17 University of Miami men’s basketball team past Florida Memorial, 71-43, in exhibition play on Saturday at the BankUnited Center.
In his Hurricanes debut, junior transfer Cyrus McGowan knocked down a team-high 12 points, while Dwayne Collins added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and James Dewsand Jimmy Graham added 10 points apiece. Graham went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field as Miami’s big men used their size advantage to outscore Florida Memorial 40-8 in the paint and take the 44-35 advantage on the boards.
“It was nice to see that kind of production out of our ‘bigs’ and that will help our perimeter players down the stretch,” noted fifth-year head coach Frank Haith. “”It was great for the team to get out there and play, and they were really excited – maybe too excited early on. Florida Memorial played hard and handled the ball well. They played good defense and it provided necessary experience for our guys. We played a lot of players and used different combinations, which is what we want out of an exhibition game.”
Despite a slow start on Saturday, the Hurricanes came out strong in the second half, holding the Lions without a field goal through the first eight minutes of the stanza. Miami used a 21-3 run – including back-to-back three-pointers from Brian Asbury and Dews – to take the commanding 52-24 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the contest. The Hurricanes would lead by as many 29 points in the second half in which they outscored the Lions, 40-22.
The Hurricanes ended the first half on a six-point run to take the 31-21 lead into the break, including seven first-half points from Dewson 3-of-4 shooting. Dews also dished out an assist in the opening stanza, feeding to the ball to DeQuan Jones for his first collegiate dunk.
Both teams came out slow in their opening action of the season. The Lions got on the board first with a basket from Matthew Rolle, but a pair of dunks by Collins pushed the Hurricanes ahead, 8-4, and the home team would not trail again.
Jack McClintonrecorded a team-high six assists and registered two blocks, which would be a career high during the regular season. Asbury added four assists and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while Jones finished with eight points, seven boards and a team-high four blocks in his exhibition debut.
The Hurricanes close out their exhibition schedule on Saturday, Nov. 8, with doubleheader versus Barry. The women’s team opens play at 3 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 5:30 p.m. Miami opens the regular season at home versus Florida Southern on Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
For ticket information, please contact the Hurricane Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-CANES.
