Miami Uses Strong Second Half to Defeat Pitt, 76-69, in ACC Opener
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team used a strong second half to defeat Pitt, 76-69, in the ACC opener Tuesday night inside the Watsco Center.
Pitt (7-7, 0-1 ACC) took a 43-33 lead into the break, closing the half on a 28-8 run. Miami (12-2, 1-0 ACC) stormed out to a 25-15 advantage before going the next six and half minutes without a point.
The Panthers took advantage and went on a 20-0 run during the drought to take a 10-point lead before the Hurricanes closed out the half with a pair of free throws from Shelton Henderson, a layup from Dante Allen and a buzzer-beater lay-in from Tru Washington.
The Hurricanes stormed out of the gates to begin the second half and quickly regained the lead, 48-45, utilizing a 13-0 run and holding the Panthers scoreless for 5:40. With Pitt leading 60-56 with eight minutes remaining, Miami used a 13-3 run to take a 69-63 advantage spurred by Tre Donaldson’s six points.
After Pitt cut the lead to four on a pair of free throws, Miami put the game away with a jumper from Donaldson and a corner 3-pointer from Reneau.
Reneau led the game with 28 points on 8-of-13 shooting and was 10-of-10 from the charity stripe becoming the first Miami player to shoot 100-percent from the free-throw line since Jordan Miller against Texas in 2023 and also added eight rebounds.
Donaldson added 19 points as Washington added 11 points and Henderson tallied 10 points and eight rebounds. Ernest Udeh Jr. hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds and added six points and a game-high three steals.
Miami returns to action Jan. 7 as it travels to take on Wake Forest at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard on WQAM.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Jai Lucas
Opening statement…
“I mean, first thing first. I know this is the day before New Year’s Eve. I know the football team is in Dallas, but the environment, the environment in here, I could literally feel the building. I don’t know how many people were there, but their energy made a big impact in the second half. So it was great. This is great. I’m excited to see what it looks like going forward. Our guys battled. The first half, it was a little bit rocky. I thought we started good, and then got in some foul trouble, and then we let our offense kind of affect us a lot in the first half, and it wasn’t a bad offense. We’re just missing a lot of layups and missing a lot of bunnies. And then in the second half, I thought the zone changed, and we needed it because we were in foul trouble. So it was a good adjustment that we came up with. The staff talked about it. I talked about it at half. We kind of had it in our back pocket, and we needed it, and it changed the game for us.”
On Malik, Tre, and the team’s response…
“And that’s why those guys are here. You know what I mean, that’s why you go find guys in the portal who played big time basketball in big environments. Tre’s won the Big 10 Championship, been in the Sweet 16, Malik, played in the Big 10. So you know they are playing the big games in Indiana, which is blue blood, so they have some type of substance about it in games like this where they won’t necessarily be afraid. And the same thing with Tru, and those guys just did a good job of just battling. Everybody made big plays. Like I told him (Tru) in there, his tip-in at halftime, it doesn’t look like a lot, but us being down 10 instead of 12 looks different and feels different. And that tip-in changed us and gave us some momentum.”
On his first ACC win as a head coach…
“You know, the biggest thing was this was the first time I was like, oh, this is fun coaching. You know, it’s a game. We’re down. You got to battle. You got to look at your play card, call something you think is going to work. We haven’t been in a lot of games like this, so it was more exciting than anything. The guys were excited. I knew we were struggling a little bit, but I never felt like we were out of it. I never felt like it was getting away from us. I felt we were playing the right way. It just hadn’t came together yet, and it still really didn’t click. We did enough to win the game, and the guys did a great job, but it didn’t click to how we should be.”
Tre Donaldson, Guard, Senior
On clutch moments to end the game…
“Just trusted myself. I’ve been playing college basketball for a long time. I know how to close games and my teammates just trusted me being ready to score the ball. When they gave me opportunities, I just took them and they trusted me and I was able to knock them down like I’m supposed to do.”
On operating comfortably in the post and his versatility as a scorer and playmaker…
“I think that’s my main thing, being versatile. I can do more than one thing on the court, whether that’s playmaking, getting downhill, or just guarding. One of the main things I’m looking for is my teammates, because I know people are going to collapse when I get in the game. So the kick-outs are going to be there, guys are going to be open, and when they’re making shots it makes it easier for me to get down there and finish. That’s what I’m really looking for. Just playing the game, finding my guys, and letting them make the play.”
Malik Reneau, Forward, Senior
On developing the mindset to help the team…
“Just trust from my coaching staff, trust to the players and the work I put in every single day. I think that’s the three main factors. If coach believes in me to get a basket and that’s my ultimate goal. If coach trusts me and my guys trust me to go get one, I’m going to go get one for him, and they trust me to do it every time.”
On balancing his shots and helping teammates…
“Just confidence is what I do. It’s just plain and simple. I mean, my guys trust me and when they’re open, I’m going to get it to them no matter where it’s at. They know if I’m open and I look for them first and I don’t see nothing, they know I have that ability to go score.”
