Miami’s 48% field goal percentage led to an 88-64 victory versus the Binghamton Bearcats on Sunday afternoon at the Watsco Center.
The Hurricanes were led by Indiana natives Jalen Blackmon and Nijel Peck. Pack and Blackmon’s backcourt connection ran strong all afternoon, leading to both players having 17-point performances.
“We have a really dynamic backcourt, I would say for sure, the ability for both of us to shoot the ball around the court and just kind of playing off each other,” Pack said about the connection between Blackmon and himself.
Blackmon and Pack’s presence certainly helped the Hurricanes come out victorious; however, this game wasn’t a cakewalk.
“Leading into this game on Friday, we weren’t sharp in practice at all. Yesterday, [practice] was a little better. First half today was a little better than that, but the second half was not there. Mostly inconsistently at the defensive end. Our defense in the first half was pretty solid, but in the second half, we gave up too many threes, too many layups,” Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga said.
Binghamton’s Gavin Walsh, a 6-foot-8 forward from Maryland, scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds. Ben Callahan-Gold also had a notable performance for the Bearcats, totaling seven points, four rebounds and two assists in the losing effort.
Binghamton came out hot in both halves. Miami will have to avoid getting out to slow starts like these against better opponents as the season progresses.
“We have to pick up the energy level. Honestly, we were dead. They came out ready to play, and we knew they would do that. And you just need to be able to pick it up and things were able to turn around for us,” Pack told reporters.
The freshmen were a big reason why the Hurricanes were able to turn the game around this afternoon. Five-star prospect Jalil Bethea hit a three-pointer from downtown at the 10-minute mark in the first half, which initiated a momentum shift in Miami’s favor. Bethea ended the game with 13 points, going five-for-five at the free-throw line.
Divine Ugochukwu, coming off a great debut against Fairleigh Dickinson, where he scored 15 points, was a key contributor to today’s victory. With time winding down in the second half, Ugochuwu made a statement one-handed slam, leaving his teammates and the crowd in a frenzy.”
“If you see, those freshmen are earning playing time. You see what Jalil did. You see Divine comes into the game and plays really well. And then Austin [Swartz] comes into the second half, and the first thing he does is bury a three, so we’ve got to figure out the role those guys are going to play,” Larrañaga said.
The freshmen certainly helped out in winning today’s game, but basketball is a team game, and Miami certainly showed that. UM had four players in double figures and nine players scored.
Brandon Johnson, the East Carolina transfer, scored 10 points and tallied seven rebounds. In the second half, he drove hard to the basket, creating contact that resulted in a foul and a basket setting up the three-point play. Matthew Cleveland had nine points, including an alley-oop dunk, which put the fans on their feet.
The ’Canes will be back in action at the Watsco Center on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. to take on Coppin State.