Just three days removed from a closely contested season opener, Miami men’s basketball flipped the script against Bethune-Cookman, winning in an emphatic fashion. Spurred by dominant interior play, the Hurricanes hung triple digits on the visiting Wildcats, cruising to a 101-61 victory Thursday night at the Watsco Center.
Guard Tre Donaldson led the squad in scoring with 23 points. Forward Malik Reneau finished with 22 points and five assists, and center Ernest Udeh Jr. nearly logged a double-double, notching eight points and corralling a team-high 10 rebounds.
Bethune entered Thursday’s non-conference tilt on the heels of a wire-to-wire overtime loss to Auburn on Monday night, a team that had advanced to last year’s Final Four as a No. 1 seed in the 2024-25 NCAA Tournament.
Despite their resilient efforts against the top-ranked Tigers three nights prior, the Wildcats found themselves physically outmatched against the ‘Canes, who had a considerable size advantage over their HBCU opponent. As a result, Miami’s frontcourt imposed its will in the low block, generating 58 points in the paint.
Udeh was the main facilitator of Miami’s success on the inside, with all eight of his points coming off of dunks. The senior TCU transfer also recorded four blocks on the defensive end, forcing the Wildcats away from the lane all night.
The Hurricanes set the tone early offensively and never looked back.
Unlike its sluggish start against Jacksonville, the team opened on a 7-0 scoring barrage to begin the game. Midway through the first half, UM extended the lead to 11, pulling ahead 28-17 following guard Dante Allen going for 3-3 to score his first collegiate buckets.
Bethune began to push the tempo in transition, but they were stymied by head coach Jai Lucas’ defense, who were able to track back quickly and force contested perimeter shots.
In the last 3 minutes of the opening frame, Miami went on an 8-0 run to close out the first half, jumping out to a 50-31 advantage heading into the break.
Tre Donaldson led all players through the first two quarters with 17 points through just 20 minutes of action.
Entering the second half, UM picked up right where it left off, drilling the first three baskets of the final interval while continuing to force turnovers. The takeaways led to fast breaks down the other end, where true freshman Shelton Henderson connected on an alley-oop to Udeh, who brought down the hammer to go up 60-33.
For the rest of the game, Miami’s impenetrable defense stood firm against the Wildcats, confining Bethune to chuck up low percentage shots from beyond the arc.
Offensively, Miami never relented either, continuously building on its lead despite Lucas employing a heavier rotation off the bench in the winding minutes.
By the final horn, the Hurricanes had shot 59% from the floor and had connected from three-point range at a 47% clip. Their offensive efficiency finished off the charts, notching a 25-6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Miami (2-0) will look to continue obliterating opponents around the rim in its next non-conference appearance Monday against Stetson University for Military Appreciation Night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.
