Hurricanes Downed by No. 9 BYU

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team battled but ultimately fell to No. 9 BYU, 72-62, Thursday night in the first round of the Terry Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational.

Miami (5-2) took a four-point lead into the locker room at half, 33-29. The Hurricanes defense limited BYU (5-1) to just four points in the last 6:20 of the half. Following a Cougars basket with just over a minute remaining in the half, Miami regained the lead on a 7-0 run spurred by a Shelton Henderson and-one.

BYU came out strong to start the second half and took a 42-40 lead with 15:55 remaining and extended its lead to as high as nine while holding Miami without a field goal for six minutes. The Cougars took their highest lead of the game, 59-45, with 6:52 left but the Hurricanes continued to battle and cut the lead to seven with a minute and a half left.

Malik Reneau led Miami with 14 points and nine rebounds while Henderson added 13 points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists. Tre Donaldson registered 12 points and a team-high three steals.

Miami outscored the Cougars, 34-24, in the paint but shot 37.9-percent from the floor while BYU was 45.5-percent and hit nine of its 19 3-point attempts.

The Hurricanes return to action Friday at 7 p.m. against either Dayton or Georgetown. The game will be aired on either ESPN or ESPN2.