No. 11 Miami Pulls Away From La Salle, 57-46
By Andy Fledderjohann
HurricaneSports.com
READING, Pa. – The No. 11 Miami men’s basketball team pulled away in the second half Wednesday evening for a 57-46 win over La Salle in a neutral-site contest at Santander Arena in Reading, Pa., in front of a near-capacity crowd of 6,735. The game served as a homecoming for freshman Lonnie Walker IV, a Reading native who led Reading High School to a 2017 state championship.
Miami kept its record perfect at 4-0, while La Salle dropped to 3-3. Walker scored five points, grabbed two rebounds and added a pair of assists in 27 minutes of action in his return home.
Sophomore Dewan Huell scored a career-high 16 points and added seven boards as the lone Hurricane in double figures. Anthony Lawrence III added seven points and a career-high 10 rebounds, while Dejan Vasiljevic scored eight points.
Both teams struggled offensively for much of the game. Miami shot a season-low 36.7 percent, but held La Salle to 28.8 percent shooting, including 0-for-15 from 3-point range. The Hurricanes limited an opponent to under 30 percent shooting for the first time since holding South Carolina State to 29 percent shooting on Dec. 6, 2016.
After a tie game at halftime, the Hurricanes built a 33-25 lead out of the break, but La Salle went on an 8-0 run to knot the score at 33 with 9:42 remaining. La Salle pulled within 41-39 at the 4:59 mark, but Miami used back-to-back 3-points from Vasiljevic and Bruce Brown as part of an 8-0 run to take its biggest lead of the night, 51-39, at the 2:57 mark.
The shooting was especially cold in the first stanza, as the teams each shot 23 percent and played to a 19-19 stalemate at halftime.
Miami returns home to the Watsco Center Saturday for a 4 p.m. game with North Florida.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesHoops on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Game Notes
• Dewan Huell scored a career-high 16 points, topping his previous high of 15, set last season at North Florida.
• Bruce Brown Jr. matched a season and career best with 11 rebounds.
• Anthony Lawrence II set a career high with 10 boards and tied his career highs in assists (5) and blocks (3).
• After redshirting last season and missing the first three games this year with an injury, Sam Waardenburg made his college debut Wednesday. He scored seven points in 13 minutes.
• Miami has not trailed in the second half this season.
• UM has limited four straight opponents to fewer than 60 points, the first time Miami has done so since holding six straight foes under 60 from Dec. 25, 2012-Jan. 16, 2013.
