Miami Rolls Past Missouri, 80-66, in NCAA Tournament

ST. LOUIS– The University of Miami men’s basketball used two second half runs to defeat Missouri, 80-66, Friday night in the NCAA Tournament First Round inside the Enterprise Center.

Miami (26-8) took a one-point lead, 27-26, into the half behind Dante Allen’s team-leading seven points. The Hurricanes jumped out to a 21-15 lead following Allen’s second 3-pointer before taking a 27-17 advantage after a 6-0 run. Missouri (20-13) clawed back into the game, closing out the first stanza on a 9-0 run and holding Miami scoreless for the final 3:07.

Coming out of the break, the Tigers evened the game at 32-32 before Miami took a five-point lead after a Malik Reneau layup and Tre Donaldson 3-pointer. Noam Dovrat hit a transition-three to put the Canes up 49-43 with 10:13 remaining forcing Missouri to call a timeout.

The Tigers embarked on an 8-0 run out of the break to take a 51-49 lead. Donaldson responded with a 3-pointer to put the Hurricanes ahead by one prior to Mark Mitchell hitting a 3-pointer with 7:39 remaining as Miami called timeout.

The Hurricanes countered with a 11-0 run of their own, highlighted by a Reneau 3-pointer and an emphatic fastbreak dunk by Shelton Henderson. Missouri cut the lead to six before a 7-0 run from Miami that pushed its lead to 75-62. Down the stretch, Tru Washington hit three free throws to secure the win.

Reneau led all scorers with 24 points, 19 of which came in the second half, and added six rebounds and three assists. Donaldson finished with 17 points and was 5-of-7 on 3-pointers as Henderson registered 15 points. Ernest Udeh Jr. hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds.

Miami will take on second-seeded Purdue at 12:10 p.m. Sunday on CBS.