Miami Rolls to 99-72 Win Over Elon
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami men’s basketball had five players score in double figures as it rolled to a 99-72 victory over Elon on Thursday inside the Watsco Center.
The Hurricanes (4-1) took a 48-41 lead into the half as Shelton Henderson and Tru Washington combined for 25 points on 11-for-14 shooting. Henderson connected on six of his eight attempts while Washington was 5-for-6 from the floor to go along with a team-high five rebounds.
Miami led 31-30 with just over five minutes remaining on the half before going on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to double digits. Henderson scored back-to-back layups before Malik Reneau converted an and-one. Henderson capped off the run with another layup following a Tre Donaldson steal.
The Hurricanes open the second half on a 13-3 run, leading 61-44, with 16:33 left in the game. The run was highlighted by a pair of threes from Dante Allen and a deep ball from Washington.
Elon (3-2) cut the lead to nine, 68-59, before Miami extended its lead back to 18 on a 15-6 run. Miami’s advantage swelled to as high as 25 in the waning minutes after an 11-1 spurt before taking a 28-point lead, its highest of the game.
Five players scored in double figures for the third time this season led by Washington, who registered his third-career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Reneau added 19 while Donaldson had 17. Henderson and Dante Allen recorded season highs with 16 and 14, respectively.
The Hurricanes connected on a season-high nine 3-pointers and finished the game shooting 54.5-percent from the floor. Miami outrebounded the Phoenix, 38-22, dominated the paint, 54-28, and forced a season-high 18 turnovers.
Miami returns to the Watsco Center on Sunday at 1 p.m. as it takes on Delaware State. The game can be seen live ACC Network Extra.
Tickets are available for the 2025-26 men’s basketball season and can be purchased online at www.miamihurricanes.com/tickets.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Jai Lucas
Opening statement…
“It’s always good to come out with a win. You can’t take those for granted. It’s that time of the year where you look at some of these teams in these games, they get in these games, and it’s that dog fight part of the year, right before Thanksgiving, because everybody’s kind of looking around the corner. I thought we had some residuals from the Florida game that still lingered, and we had Ernest out. That changed everything so we’re starting differently. It was a different game for us, and we did a good job in the second half adjusting on the fly. The first half was shaky, but the guys did a good job of just staying consistent. We found a way to get over the hump in the second half to get us a little bit of a cushion. I thought that was the difference in the game. I thought our size and our physicality were warmer at the end, and that was part of the reason why we pressed a little bit to try to speed the game up, to get them out of rhythm. They are a rhythm team. We had to find a way to do that, and find a way to take away the threes, and in the second half we were able to do that.
On what changed defensively from the first half to the second that led to the higher shooting percentage…
“I was concerned about the three-point shot, especially with all five people being able to shoot. We started the game, switching everything, and we worked on it for the last couple of days of practice. But then when you get out there, the team moves a little bit faster and quicker. And part of it was a new adjustment that we tried to see if we could limit some of the threes and take away some, and they got some just off of us over helping. It wasn’t necessarily our switching. We just kind of got stuck when the ball was in the paint, and that led to some of their threes. Then we kind of adjusted, and we started to go under in the second half and just kept the matchups as much as possible, and try to keep them out the paint as much as possible, because their paint touches, which is a big key to what we do, and what we try to eliminate led to a lot of their threes.”
Shelton Henderson, Forward, Freshman
On what the team was feeling after the Florida game…
“I think we had to forget about it quick. It was our first loss of the season, so we had to bounce back. We knew we had to come out swinging, so that’s what we did tonight, and it showed up.
On one thing he would pick from tonight’s performance to replicate…
“I would keep building on playing as a team. We get a lot of assists together, so I’m going to keep playing off of these guys and they’re going to keep playing off of me.”
Tru Washington, Guard, Junior
On what the team learned from the Florida game and took as inspiration…
“The Gator game we missed a lot of free throws. But at practice we were working on free throws, and it showed today.”
On his mentality to be an effective scorer and push the offense…
“Just my coaching staff for believing in me. My coaching staff, my teammates, they want me to be the best I can be at all times. First half in that game (Florida) I was kind of in a slump, but they never shied away from me. They kept telling me to keep going and filled me with confidence.”
