Miami’s back-to-back losses versus Clemson and Florida State placed the ’Canes on the cusp of a skid approaching an away trip to Syracuse. However, the Orange drew somewhat of a parallel to the Hurricanes, as they also entered this game having suffered two defeats on the bounce. And in a must-win game for both sides, the Hurricanes came out on top with an 85-76 win Saturday afternoon.
When asked about the issues of Miami’s first half versus FSU, freshman forward Shelton Henderson explained that, “everything just leads to the defensive end.”
Against Syracuse, Miami took those words and put them into practice against Syracuse,, keeping the Orange to zero baskets for the opening three minutes and 46 seconds of the game —demonstrating Coach Jai Lucas’ ability to adjust game-by-game.
And it was Henderson who opened the scoring for Miami, as he looped around and slammed down a one-handed dunk.
Miami led 9-0 before Syracuse found its first basket, but the Orange proceeded to narrow their deficit to 11-8 in the following minute. However, anytime Syracuse threatened Miami’s lead, the Hurricanes went on a scoring surge, exemplified by their seven-point run after the game became tied at 27 each.
Although Miami never appeared in true danger, the Orange were creeping behind the ’Canes backs throughout the first half, repeatedly stealing the ball and getting active on the fastbreak.
Still, Senior forward Malik Renau’s quality in and around the paint allowed Miami to close out the first half at 41-36 in its favor.
The trend of Syracuse marginally encroaching on Miami’s lead persisted throughout the second half — as the distance closed to a one basket margin at 43-40 and 50-48. Yet, the Orange never broke Miami’s hold on the game.
Two Timo Malovec threes in the second half reignited Miami’s momentum, paving the way for a sequence of baskets that resulted in Miami leading by 13 points, the largest advantage of the match, at 69-56. From this point, the Hurricanes kept a tight lid on Syracuse’s offense, with the closest margin of the remainder of the game being eight points.
The final basket of the game saw a sequence of lobs out of Miami’s backcourt, resulting in Ernest Udeh Jr. slamming the ball home for an 85-76 victory.
Miami netted 52 points from the paint, scored 61.1% of their shots from the floor, and completed seven of their 13 three-point attempts, highlighting the diversity of the Hurricanes’ shooting arsenal.
Renau led the team in scoring, playmaking, and shot recoveries, reaching 20 points, five assists (tied with Tre Donaldson), and 11 rebounds, notching his sixth double-double of the season.
Even so, scoring was spread relatively evenly throughout the remainder of the team, as Donaldson and Henderson netted 16 points each and Tru Washington took home 14.
The afternoon game saw a comprehensively sound team performance from Miami, giving the Hurricanes a solid platform to build upon as they work towards their next fixture at home versus Stanford on Jan. 28 at 9:00 p.m.