Canes Defeat Moccasins in Opening Exhibition Game
Nov. 3, 2011
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team began their 2011-12 campaign with an 88-78 exhibition win over Florida Southern Thursday night at the BankUnited Center. The game marked Jim Larranaga’s debut as head coach for the Miami Hurricanes.
Suffering from a heavy case of preseason injuries, the Hurricanes entered the game with only nine members of the team dressed and ready for action. Despite their short roster, the team came sprinting out of the gates for a 6-2 lead less than two minutes into the game.
The Canes would begin to slow down as the half continued, however, as the Moccasins of Florida Southern took their first lead of the game with 13:05 to go. After falling behind by nine points midway through the half, the Canes reeled off a 13-2 run, including seven points from sophomore Rion Brown, to take a 30-28 lead with 5:13 left in the frame. The Hurricanes, paced by Brown, Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant, entered the half trailing the Moccasins by a 38-33 margin.
After a slow end to their first half, the Hurricanes came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders. With two buckets from Grant (26 points) and another from Scott (23 points, seven rebounds), the team went on a 7-0 run to build a 40-38 lead less than a minute into the period.
The Canes would trail for the majority of the second half, however, until junior forward Garrius Adams (nine points, seven rebounds) caught fire for the Hurricanes. After a Brown three-point play closed the gap to three points, Adams connected on the first of his three three-pointers in the second half, tying the game with less than six minutes to go. The Hurricanes, who had been down by as many as eight points in the second half, took their first lead since 18:56 of the second half on a Brown jumper with just over five minutes to go in the game. The Hurricanes finished the game on an 18-8 run, including the team’s last five points from Grant, to put away the pesky Moccasins 88-78.
The Moccasins were paced by 15 points from Dominic Lane, 15 points from Seth Evans and 14 points from Garrett Putman.
Trey McKinney-Jones Takes the Court
Fans got their first view of transfer guard Trey McKinney-Jones on Thursday night. Despite his three turnovers, the former University of Missouri – Kansas City guard displayed his offensive prowess against Florida Southern, finishing the night with 11 points and four rebounds.
Celebrity Sightings at BankUnited Center
Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh showed up just after halftime to take in the Hurricanes’ exhibition game against the Moccasins. Bosh sat courtside only a few seats down from rapper Mack Maine, the president of music label Young Money Entertainment.
“Coca-Cola Grab A Six Pack for the Weekend Plan” Unveiled
Fans have been given the first opportunity to buy tickets to ACC regular season games with the “Grab A Six Pack for the Weekend Plan.” The ticket plan, beginning for as little as $139 per, includes a complementary six-pack of Coca-Cola product in addition to tickets to six Hurricanes home games. Click HERE for more information.
