Men’s basketball unable to change things on road
The losing ways continue for Perry Clark’s Miami Hurricanes.
Curtis Sumpter had a career-high 21 points and Derrick Snowden added 15 as Villanova easily defeated Miami 75-56 on Tuesday night.
Ricky Wright, playing his last game on campus, had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Andrew Sullivan added 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (15-10, 8-4 Big East), who played the first in a stretch of four games in eight days.
Darius Rice had 15 points and Paulo Coelho added 12 for Miami (10-14, 3-10), which has lost six of its last seven. The ‘Canes have also dropped 10 of their last 11 contests away from Coral Gables.
The Hurricanes turned the ball over 21 times, marking the third consecutive 20-plus-turnover game. Eric Wilkins committed five miscues for Miami, while Rice and Coelho each turned the ball over four times. The ‘Canes also struggled with their shot, converting on just 19-of-52 (37 percent) from the field.
After falling behind 15-9 midway through the first half, the Wildcats scored 21 of the last 25 points of the half to take a 30-19 lead at the break. Sumpter had 12 points in the half to pace Villanova. Miami made just 7-of-28 (25 percent) from the field.
The 19 points was the lowest first-half total for Miami all season.
Villanova continued to pull away in the second half. Miami got within nine, 32-23, early in the half, but the Wildcats went on a 25-5 run and a steal by Snowden led to a fast break dunk to make it 57-28.
The Villanova lead reached 30 when a layup by Marcus Austin made it 61-31 with 9:22 left.
To make matters worse for the ‘Canes, Rice injured his hand early in the game while colliding with the Wright. Rice would return shortly, but proceeded to shoot just 4-13 from the field.
In addition, Clark said that several players suffered from assorted handicaps. James Jones was hindered by stomach flu while Michael Simmons suffered a slight concussion.
”This is not an excuse, but it was a combination of a lot of things that came down on us tonight,” Clark said. “These kids have been through a lot of disappointment and frustration, and it seemed to finally weigh on them.
– Compiled by the Sports Information Department