No. 19/17 Clemson Outlasts No. 18/19 Miami, 72-63
CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 18/19 Miami men’s basketball team dropped a 72-63 decision at No. 19/17 Clemson Saturday afternoon in front of a packed house at Littlejohn Coliseum. Freshman Lonnie Walker IV and Anthony Lawrence II led Miami (13-3, 2-2 ACC) with 16 points apiece.
Walker recorded his second-best scoring output as a Hurricane, while Lawrence posted a season high. Chris Lykes added 13, while Dewan Huell scored 10. Donte Grantham paced Clemson (15-2, 4-1) with 18 points.
Clemson shot 12-for-21 from 3-point range and 16-of-17 at the free-throw line. The Tigers were 22-for-50 (.440) from the field while limiting Miami to 38.1 percent (24-for-63). The Canes hit on 6-of-23 3-point attempts and 9-of-18 at the charity stripe.
Miami hit 8 of its first 12 shots but struggled for the remainder of the first half, knocking down three of its final 13 attempts to trail, 34-30, at intermission.
After falling behind by as many as eight points early in the second half, Miami used a 10-2 run while holding Clemson scoreless for over five minutes to tie the game, 42-42, at the 12:59 mark. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Mark Donnal gave the Tigers a six-point lead and the momentum. The Canes clawed back to within two, 56-54, on a Walker 17-footer and again at 58-56 on a Huell putback slam, but back-to-back Clemson 3-pointers late gave the Tigers a commanding 9-point lead, 66-57, with just under a minute remaining.
Miami has a quick turnaround, playing No. 7/6 Duke at 7 p.m. Monday at the sold-out Watsco Center. ESPN will televise the game. Fans wishing to attend Miami basketball games this season are encouraged to use StubHub, the official secondary ticket market for Miami Athletics, to purchase single-game tickets.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesHoops on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Game Notes
Team
• Clemson leads the all-time series, 14-11, including 8-2 at home.
• Miami is 4-2 in true road games this year and 7-3 away from home this season.
• Miami used the starting lineup of Ja’Quan Newton, Lonnie Walker IV, Bruce Brown, Anthony Lawrence II and Dewan Huell for the second straight game.
• Miami trailed at the half for just the second time this season.
• Miami hit 8 of its first 12 shots, then was 3 for its final 13 to end the half.
• Miami shot 38.1 percent, its third lowest output of the season.
• The Hurricanes turned the ball over eight times, matching a season low.
• Clemson hit 12 3-pointers, a season high for a Miami opponent (previous was eight). UM opponents were shooting 26.7 percent from 3-point range this season (Clemson was 12-for-21).
Individual
• Making his third career start, freshman Lonnie Walker IV scored 16 points while matching a career-high with 29 minutes of playing time. It marked his second-most points at Miami and his fifth game in double figures.
• Walker also tied a career high with seven rebounds.
• Freshman Chris Lykes scored 13 points, reaching double figures for the third time in four ACC games and the sixth time this season.
• Anthony Lawrence II scored a season-high 16 points (previous was 14 against North Florida).
• Dewan Huell recorded 10 points and reached double figures for the 13th time in 16 games. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
• Ja’Quan Newton scored four points and now has 1,005 for his career.
