Miami Defeats Providence to Advance in NIT
March 18, 2009
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) – Jack McClinton hit a career-high tying seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points lead Miami to a 78-66 victory over Providence in the first round of the NIT Wednesday.
Dwayne Collins had 12 rebounds and Lance Hurdle added 12 points for the Hurricanes (19-12), who out-rebounded the Friars 44-35.
McClinton broke his own school record for 3-pointers in a season (94 set in 2007-08) and now has 98 through 31 games. He holds the top-three spots in the Miami recordbook in single-season threes and also extended his school record for career treys to 283.
Though Miami never trailed, the game stayed tight in the second half, and both teams had trouble scoring as the game grew increasingly chippy down the stretch.
Brian Asbury’s jumper with 3:22 to go broke a stretch of 6:53 without a field goal by either team.
Providence got within four with just 3:08 to play, but McClinton–who made 7 of his 14 3-point shots–responded with two of them in a row to keep the game out of reach.
Weyinmi Efejuku led Providence with 16 points, and Jonathan Kale added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Friars.
The fourth-seeded Hurricanes advance to the second round of the NIT and have a quick turnaround as they face top-seeded Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. in Gainesville. ESPNU will televise the game.
