Grant and Scott Lead Canes to 72-57 Victory

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CORAL GABLES, Fla. – (AP) – Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant scored 19 points each to lead Miami past Rutgers 72-57 on Tuesday night.

Scott’s running jumper with 7:13 remaining ended a Miami field-goal drought of 8:40 and stopped a 15-2 Scarlett Knights’ run that cut into a 19-point Hurricanes lead.

Myles Mack’s 3-pointer from the corner with 9:29 remaining capped the run and got the Knights to within six, 48-42.

Miami secured the win as Scott scored five points and Grant converted four free throws in the final 3:01.

Austin Carroll led the Knights (1-1) with 11 points and Eli Carter finished with 10 points.

Florida transfer Kenny Kadji scored 13 points for the Hurricanes (2-0).

The Hurricanes expanded a 35-25 halftime lead, outscoring the Knights 11-2 in the first 4:42 of the second half. Kadji keyed the run with five points, including a three-point play for a 45-27 lead with 15:53 left to play.

Miami finished 10 of 23 from 3-point range and Rutgers shot 9 of 23 from behind the arc. But the Knights only took six free throw attempts and failed to convert a shot.

The Knights rallied from a 16-point deficit with a 10-2 spurt late in the first half. Mike Poole’s 3-pointer with 4:02 left capped the run and cut Miami’s lead to 31-23.

The Hurricanes ran off to a 14-4 lead in the first 4:53. Scott and Kenny Kadji scored two field goals each during the spurt.

Consecutive 3-pointers from Scott and freshman Shane Larkin increased the Hurricanes’ lead to 20-6 with 12:52 remaining. The 3-pointers were part of an 8:30 stretch when all six Miami field goals came from behind the arc. Larkin, son of former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, played in his first collegiate game Tuesday.

Grant’s 3-pointer with 6:37 left ended the string of long-distance baskets and gave the Hurricanes their biggest lead of the half, 29-13.

Game Notes
In the first half against Rutgers, Miami held the Scarlet Knights to just 25 points. The last time the Canes held an opponent to 25 or less points in the first half was last season against #1 North Carolina on March 11, holding them to just 22 points.

Sophomore transfer Kenny Kadji scored his first points of the season as a Cane after going 0-3 from the field in his UM debut against Tennessee Tech last Friday. Kadji finished the night with 15 points, 5 rebounds and a block.

Attendance at tonight’s game was 3,180.

Miami held Rutgers to 57 points in the game. The last time the Canes held a team under 58 points was against UNC-Greensboro on Feb. 15, 2011, holding them to 55 points.

Current Heat players Juwan Howard and Chris Bosh were in attendance tonight, along with Heat great Tim Hardaway. 

With the 72-57 win, the Canes are 9-5 all-time against Rutgers.

Miami was picked to finish fifth in the ACC preseason poll while Rutgers is predicted to finish 11th of 16 BIG EAST teams.

Miami is now 85-40 at the BankUnited Center.

The Hurricanes have made a three-point basket in 313-straight games and have made at least one trey in 769 of 772 games since the NCAA adopted the three-point shot in 1986.

The Hurricanes have won 24 consecutive non-conference games at the BankUnited Center and have defeated 39 of their last 42 non-conference opponents at home.

Malcolm Grant has made a three-pointer in 25-straight games dating back to the Dec. 30, 2009 game against Pepperdine.

After being made eligible just five hours before tip-off, true freshman guard Shane Larkin registered his first points, 3-point field goal, steal, rebound and assist in tonight’s game. He ended his first game with 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 assist in 22 minutes.

Larranaga’s overall record is 472-344 in 28 years as a head coach and he is 2-0 with the Canes.

The Hurricanes are 2-0 in the BankUnited Center after going 13-4 at home in 2010-11. Since the 2007-08 season, UM has compiled a 53-14 record at home, including nine wins over ranked opponents.