Thomas Hits Six 3s to Lead Miami Past UNCG, 78-58

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Adrian Thomas scored 18 points and matched a career high with six 3-pointers to help Miami rout North Carolina-Greensboro 78-58 on Tuesday night.

Malcolm Grant and Garrius Adams added 16 points apiece for the Hurricanes (16-10) who have won four of their last five games.

They finished with 12 3s – one shy of matching a season best – and shot nearly 44 percent on 25-of-57 shooting to claim just their second road victory this season outside the state of Florida. Both came in a seven-day span in central North Carolina.

Kyle Randall scored 13 points to lead UNC Greensboro (5-20). The Spartans finished 3 of 20 from 3-point range and have lost five of seven.

Durand Scott had his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who were looking to get comfortable at the Greensboro Coliseum – the site of next month’s Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Before a 10-point home loss to No. 5 Duke on Sunday night, the Hurricanes were involved in eight consecutive games that each were decided by four or fewer points — including a 74-73 win at Wake Forest on Feb. 9.

This one didn’t wind up anywhere near that close. Not after the Hurricanes took both the lead and total control with impressive runs at the end of the first half and the start of the second.

They went up to stay while closing the first half with a 20-10 run that gave them a 35-28 lead at the break. Then, the Hurricanes took their first double-figure lead during a 23-9 burst shortly after halftime.

Scott’s steal and layup made it 43-33 with 17 1/2 minutes left, and DeQuan Jones capped the run with a dunk that stretched the lead to 58-39 with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Thomas later put Miami up 20 with – what else? – a 3 from the corner, making it 67-47 with 6 minutes left.

Perhaps more significantly, Miami did it largely without Reggie Johnson – a 6-foot-10, 303-pound native of nearby Winston-Salem who entered having scored in double figures in four straight games. Plagued by early foul trouble and the clear focus of UNC Greensboro’s defense, Johnson didn’t score until he hit two free throws in the final minutes for his only points.

Aloysius Henry finished with 12 points for the Spartans, who have only one victory against an ACC opponent in the program’s history and fell to 0-11 against a challenging nonconference schedule that included visits from No. 5 Duke, Florida State and Virginia Tech – all ACC teams that came to Greensboro to get familiar with the site of the league tournament.

Tonight’s Starters
Starting for Miami tonight was Durand Scott, Malcolm Grant, Garrius Adams, DeQuan Jones and Reggie Johnson.This is the first time the Hurricanes have used this lineup and marks Jones’ first start since returning to the court after breaking his hand in the Jan. 15 win over Boston College. Scott, Grant and Johnson have started all 26 games for UM this season.

Moving on Up
With a career-high tying six three-pointers on 10 attempts (.600) versus UNCG, Adrian Thomas knocks Guillermo Diaz (174) out of fifth place in the Miami record book with 177 career threes. He has hit a trey in 20 of the last 21 games and in 70 of his last 78 games, knocking down three-plus three-pointers 12 times this season and 29 times over his six-year career. Over the last five games, Thomas is averaging 3.8 threes per game at a 45.2 percent clip en route to 12.6 points per game.

For his career, he is shooting 39.2 percent from long range — fifth best in UM history. In addition, with 122 career appearances to date, Thomas is now tied with Miami Heat player James Jones (1999-2003) for seventh in the Miami games played list.

UNCG vs. the ACC
The Hurricanes are the seventh ACC team that UNC Greensboro has faced this season and the fourth at Greensboro Coliseum — site of the 2011 ACC Tournament from March 10-13. The Spartans have now dropped all seven games versus the ACC this season.

From Downtown
With Malcolm Grant’s three-pointer just 56 seconds into the first half, the Hurricanes have now made a three-pointer in 292 straight games and in 736 of 739 since the NCAA adopted the three-point shot in 1986. Going 4-of-8 from long range en route to 16 points, Grant has hit a trey in 13-straight games for the third-longest active streak in the ACC and in 23 of 26 games this season, with three-plus threes 14 times. Grant also extends his double-figure scoring streak to nine straight for the fourth-longest active streak in the league.

The Hurricanes drained 12 three-pointers at a 50 percent clip for the fifth time this season Miami has hit at least half of its three-point attempts.

High There
Garrius Adams scored a career-high 16 points for the Hurricanes in his ninth double-figure scoring game of the season. He knocked down a career-high six field goals on 11 attempts to go with 4-of-5 shooting from the line. Over the last five games, he is one of five ‘Canes averaging double-figure points with 10.4 points an outing, shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Durand Scott, Malcolm Grant and Adams all grabbed a game-high three steals apiece — tying career highs for Grant and Adams.

Double Trouble
Durand Scott registerd his first career double-double, grabbing a career- and game-high 12 rebounds to go with 12 points.