Miami Faces 77-60 Setback at Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team (15-10, 6-8 ACC) faced a 77-60 defeat to the Clemson Tigers (17-7, 7-6 ACC), Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

“I thought it was a very well-played game in the first half and we did some of the things we planned on doing very well,” head coach Jim Larrañaga. “We ended the game with 17 assists, which is something that has been lacking. We played a pretty darn good 10, 12, 13 minutes…With about five minutes to go, the tide completely changed. They scored and we didn’t.”

Fourth-year junior forward Norchad Omier seventh double-double in eight games, totaling 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead Miami in both categories. Freshman Kyshawn George and junior Wooga Poplar joined Omier in double-figures, tallying 13 and 11 points, respectively.

The Hurricanes connected on their first three shots of the game to jump out to an early 8-2 lead in the contest, but the Tigers responded with three consecutive 3-pointers to take their first lead of the day.

Clemson’s lead in the first half grew to as much as seven, 31-24, with 3:54 to play in the frame. However, juniors Bensley Joseph and Poplar knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Hurricanes to within one, 31-30, heading into the locker room at halftime.

Omier took over in the second half, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the final 20 minutes of action. The Hurricanes weathered a 10-2 Clemson run, thanks in large part to George and Omier, who combined for 11 points in two minutes to put Miami ahead, 49-45, midway through the half.

In a game that featured 10 lead changes and eight ties, it was no surprise that the Tigers made another run, this time scoring 12 straight points to go ahead, 65-57, with 4:04 to play. Clemson ultimately closed the game on an 24-3 run to secure the 77-60 victory.

Miami remains on the road to take on Boston College on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff in Conte Forum is set for 4 p.m. and the game will air on ACC Network.