![No. 10/13 Miami Tops No. 12/12 Minnesota, 86-81 No. 10/13 Miami Tops No. 12/12 Minnesota, 86-81](https://miamihurricanes.com/imgproxy/_4kPx_5rEImUGQwj_0oc-O8kOGEyYUBDL7w5xV60jpY/fit/1920/1080/ce/0/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdG9yYWdlLmdvb2dsZWFwaXMuY29tL2h1cnJpY2FuZXNwb3J0cy1jb20vMjAxNC8wMS84NzQwZGVhOC1pbWdfMTA0NDY5NzBfNzEuanBn.jpg)
No. 10/13 Miami Tops No. 12/12 Minnesota, 86-81
MINNEAPOLIS āĀ The No. 10/13 Miami men’s basketball team improved to 6-0 on the year with an 86-81 win at No. 12/12 Minnesota Wednesday evening in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd at Williams Arena. Miami captured its fourth straight game in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
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Miami again showed balance on the offensive end, with five players scoring in double figures. Dewan Huell had a huge game, scoring a career-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Bruce Brown Jr. added 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Ja’Quan Newton added 12, Dejan Vasiljevic 11 and Chris Lykes 10.
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The Hurricanes shot 50.7 percent from the field, including 10-for-25 from 3-point range. UM limited Minnesota to 44.4 percent shooting, including 5-for-16 from behind the arc. Miami turned the ball over just eight times.
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After the teams played to a 36-all deadlock through 20 minutes, the Hurricanes struck with a 9-2 run to start the second half, capped by a fast-break 3-pointer from Lykes, to take a 45-38 lead and prompt a Minnesota timeout at the 17:23 mark.Ā
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The Hurricanes pushed their lead to 11, 62-51, with 11:30 remaining as Lonnie Walker IV went strong to the hole and finished while drawing the foul. He hit the free throw for the and-one. Miami led by as many as a dozen points, but the Gophers fought back and cut the lead to two, 73-71, at the 3:46 mark on an Isaiah Washington layup.Ā
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Huell came right back with a dunk to push the lead back to four and spur a 7-0 run for an 80-71 lead with 2:06 left, and the Canes’ lead never dropped below five the rest of the way.
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Miami started the game strong, moving to a 17-10 lead at the 12:12 mark on a layup from Brown, as he and Anthony Lawrence II combined for 15 of the Hurricanes’ first 17 points, but Minnesota quickly cut the lead to a point on back-to-back threes from Nate Mason.Ā
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Minnesota took its first lead, 30-28, on a pair of free throws from Amir Coffee at the 3:31 mark as part of a 11-0 run as the Gophers grabbed a 34-28 edge. Miami came right back with eight straight points before a Coffey bucket tied the game heading into the break, 36-36.
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Brown had nine points in the first half, while Lawrence and Huell each chipped in eight.
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Coffey led five Gophers in double figures with 23 points in the game.Ā
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Miami takes on Princeton Saturday evening in a neutral-site contest at the Hoophall Miami Invitational at AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami. Game time is set for 8 p.m., and ESPNU has the telecast.
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To keep up with the University of Miami men’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesHoops onĀ Twitter,Ā InstagramĀ andĀ Facebook.
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GAME NOTES
Team
ā¢ Miami leads the series with Minnesota, 2-1.
ā¢ Miami is 6-5 all-time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, including four straight wins.
ā¢ Miami is now 5-2 in road openers under Jim LarraƱaga.
ā¢ UM is 36-1 when scoring 80 points under LarraƱaga.
ā¢ This was Miami’s first-ever trip to the state of Minnesota.
ā¢ Miami has started 6-0 for the second time under LarraƱaga (2014-15 team opened 8-0).
ā¢ Miami put five players in double figures in scoring for the fifth time in six games.
ā¢ Miami turned the ball over a season-low eight times and had a 17-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
ā¢ Miami was out-rebounded for the first time this season.Ā
ā¢ UM trailed for just 2:01 in the game. The Canes have trailed for 20 minutes, 46 seconds this season (out of 240 minutes) and have yet to be down in the second half this year.
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Individual
ā¢ Dewan Huell scored a career-high 23 points and reached double figures for the sixth straight game to start the season.
ā¢ Ja’Quan Newton matched a career high with nine assists. He had only one turnover.
ā¢ Bruce Brown Jr. scored a season-high 16 points and fell one rebound shy of a double-double. He also recorded five assists.
ā¢ Chris Lykes scored 10 points, his second straight game in double figures (third in six games). He added a season-high three steals.
ā¢ Anthony Lawrence scored eight of Miami’s first 10 points in the game.
ā¢ Lawrence and Brown combined for 15 of Miami’s first 17 points.
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