Omier Scores 33, Miami Defeats Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team (13-6, 4-4 ACC) recorded its second ACC road win of the season, defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-12, 2-6 ACC), 73-61, Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion.
“I thought we played a very solid and very complete first half and then let them not only get back but take control of the game,” head coach Jim Larrañaga said. “But, fortunately, we were able to pull it out and I really appreciate how hard we worked to get back into the game.”
Fourth-year junior Norchad Omier came to play after missing the Syracuse game due to injury, pouring in a season-high 33 points for his most points as a Hurricane. The forward also hauled in 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.
Omier is the first Hurricane to score 30-plus points in a game since Isaiah Wong tallied 36 on Dec. 7, 2022 against Cornell and the first Miami player to have a 30-point outing on the road since Sheldon McClellan had 31 at Charlotte on Nov. 25, 2014.
“[Norchad] is just a warrior,” Larrañaga said. “You saw tonight that he is an incredible rebounder. He made a couple of threes and some free throws but he is a beast around the basket. He’s really good.”
Three other Hurricanes – freshman Kyshawn George (11), fourth-year junior Nijel Pack (10) and junior Bensley Joseph (10) – all joined Omier in double-digits.
Omier got the Hurricanes on the board first with his ninth 3-pointer of the season. The Nicaragua native was a force on offense in the first 20 minutes, totaling 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, highlighted by three straight dunks midway through the half.
The Miami defense held Notre Dame to a 29 percent shooting effort in the first half to take a 37-29 lead into halftime.
The Fighting Irish regrouped at halftime and started the second half on an 11-2 run to take their first lead, 40-39, since the 15:52 mark of the first half.
It was a battle down the stretch as the teams traded buckets in the final 10 minutes of action before a 3-pointer from junior Wooga Poplar at the 7:47 mark gave the Hurricanes a lead they did not relinquish the rest of the game.
A 14-2 Miami run extended the Hurricanes’ lead to nine with 3:42 to play and, ultimately, George sealed the victory for Miami with nine points in the final five minutes of the game.
The Hurricanes return to the Watsco Center on Saturday to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. Tipoff in Coral Gables is set for 2:15 p.m. and the game will air on The CW.
