Canes Finish Fourth in AdvoCare Invitational

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Miami ended its run at the AdvoCare Invitational in fourth place Sunday night, falling to Florida, 65-56, at the HP Field House on the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.

Freshman Bruce Brown and junior Ja’Quan Newton led Miami with 15 points each.

Freshman Dewan Huell finished with 10 points and six rebounds, while senior Davon Reed chipped in 12.

The Gators (6-1), who were held scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half, went on a 13-4 run to regain control in the middle stages of the final period.

Miami (4-2) cut an eight-point deficit to four at 55-51 on a jumper by Newton with 3:51 remaining, but Florida scored points on its next five offensive possessions to seal the victory. The Hurricanes swept a home-and-home against the Gators, winning games in 2015 and 2016, but came up short Sunday night.

Florida did not score its first points of the second half until a pair of free throws by Keith Stone with 14:34 remaining in the contest. Its first field goal of the half came with 12:47 left, ending a stretch of 10 consecutive missed shots.

“I thought we played very well to start the game and to start the second half,” head coach Jim Larrañaga said. “But as the game wore on, in the second half especially, our offense was not clicking.”

Stone finished with 15 points, while Kasey Hill led all scorers with 16.

Miami led by as many as eight in the first half, jumping out to leads of 13-5 and 16-11.

Trailing 5-2 early, the Hurricanes went on an 11-0 run thanks to three-pointers by Brown and senior Davon Reed sandwiched around an Anthony Lawrence jumper, followed by a traditional three-point play from Newton.

Huell led the way for Miami with eight points and four rebounds in the first half.

The Hurricanes shot 37.7 percent from the field for the game (23-for-61), while the Gators finished shooting at a 46.2 clip (24-for-52).

“We need some guys to just play a little better,” Larrañaga said. “With the short roster that we have, we can’t have guys not contribute anything other than minutes.”

The Hurricanes next host Rutgers at the Watsco Center in the ACC-B1G Challenge on Wed., Nov. 30. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.

Postgame Notes

• Starters: G Ja’Quan Newton, G Bruce Brown, G Anthony Lawrence Jr., G Davon Reed, F Kamari Murphy.
• Following a 3-pointer by freshman guard Bruce Brown 42 seconds into the second half, Miami cut Florida’s four-point halftime lead to one. Moments later, Brown finished a layup to give the Hurricanes a 35-34 lead, their first lead since 5:04 remained in the first half (24-23 Miami). Miami continued the run, scoring the first nine points of the second half, and going on an 11-2 overall run in the opening 6:49 of the second half. During the stretch, the Gators shot 0-8 from the field, as the Hurricanes took a 41-36 lead.
• In his second career start, Brown finished the afternoon tied with junior guard Ja’Quan Newton with a team-high 15 points and matched his career-high set against Penn.
• Two other Hurricanes finished the afternoon with double-digit points: senior guard Davon Reed finished with 12 points, while freshman forward Dewan Huel recorded 10.
• With his 15 points against the Gators, Newton averaged 18.7 ppg and knocked down 52.4 percent (22-42) from the field in a trio of games at the AdvoCare Invitational. During the tournament, Newton tallied two of his three career 20-point games with 20 against Stanford and 21 vs. No 21/22 Iowa State.
• Senior forward Kamari Murphy grabbed 10 rebounds against Florida, his second consecutive game with double-digit rebounds.
• Miami shot 37.1 percent (23-61) from the field and 28.6 percent (4-14) from beyond the arc against Florida.
• For the first time in the Coach L era, the Hurricanes fell to the Gators (2-1). Following the loss, the Hurricanes now trail in the all-time series, 46-24.