In front of a sparse home crowd, the Miami Hurricanes fell to the Boston College Eagles 67-57 on Senior Night. The loss marks Miami’s eighth straight loss and a disappointing way to close out their season’s final game at the Watsco Center.
For the first time in months, Miami had a clean slate of health heading into the game. Both juniors Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar were total participants in practice and were full go in the game. The injury bug did not stay away for long; Pack was injured after taking an awkward fall late in the first half and did not return.
The Hurricanes led 32-28 at the half, but like the last time Miami played BC, the Eagles pulled away in the second half and dominated Miami on the boards. The hero for the Eagles in the previous contest was senior Mason Madsen, who scored 25 points. For BC, graduate student Quinten Post led all scorers with 19 points this time.
Junior Norchad Omier led the way for the ‘Canes with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Matthew Cleveland was Miami’s leading scorer, with 13 points.
It was another poor shooting performance for junior Wooga Poplar. The Philadelphia native shot an abysmal 2-12 while only scoring seven points.
Miami failed to establish offensive consistency and struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 22 percent. Pack’s being out does not help that metric, but Miami’s shot selection did not favor them.
There were a lot of little things for Miami. UM they missed out on an abundance of second-chance points while allowing the Eagles to secure way too many of their own. The game was one in which Miami had a chance to win, but as the team has displayed all season long, it just needed more juice to get it done.
Omier and Pack were honored as part of the Senior Night celebrations, and many student assistants were present at what could be Omier’s final home game at the Watsco Center. Miami’s big man could test the waters of the NBA like last season.
The Hurricanes cap off their season with a trip to Tallahassee on Saturday to take on the rival Florida State Seminoles. Miami fell to the Seminoles in January and look to end their season on a high note. Tip-off for this concluding matchup is set for 4:00 P.M. at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. The game will also be available on ESPN 2.
All stats and data via ESPN and Statsbroadcast.com, unless otherwise noted