POSTED NOV. 10 AT 12:15 P.M.
The Miami Hurricanes’ basketball team opened the season on a positive note, dismantling Florida Southern, 104-61.
The point total was the most the ‘Canes have scored on an opponent since scoring 98 points at home last year against Florida State.
Junior Jack McClinton put up a career high with seven assists and added 15 points.
Six players finished with double digits for the ‘Canes, which contributed to the lopsided win.
Still, Head Coach Frank Haith feels his team needs to play a solid 40 minutes.
“We played really good basketball tonight,” Haith said. “There were some stretches that we were not good offensively. Thirty-four minutes [of the game] were good but six minutes were not. We need to clean it up. But all-in-all it was a good night. We got plenty of production from everyone.”
The ‘Canes completely outplayed Florida Southern on both sides of the court.
The ‘Canes punished their opponent on the boards totaling 55 rebounds, compared to Florida Southern’s 31.
Junior Jimmy Graham paved the way with 11 rebounds and senior Anthony King added 10. King also finished with nine points.
“It felt good being out there,” King said. “I am glad I am back out there with my team.”
On the offensive end, the Hurricanes bruised Florida Southern with 50 points in the paint. Florida Southern had to settle on the jump shot because the ‘Canes forced them to have only six points in the paint.
“Points in the paint were definitely good. It balances our team out,” Haith said. “That is something were are trying to emphasize and get production out of.”
To go along with their great interior play, Miami was feeling it from the three-point line, hitting 12 out of 22 three pointers. Sophomores James Dew and Adrian Thomas finished with three three-pointers. Both ended the game with career highs in points with 15 by Dew and 13 by Thomas. McClinton contributed with three threes of his own.
The Hurricanes were hitting on all cylinders throughout the game. No matter who was on the court, the ‘Canes found a way to put points on the board. Miami outscored Florida Southern 58-16 in bench points and finished with 29 assists.
“The production of the bench was huge,” Haith said. “We played as much transition as we could. We wanted to push the ball and do the best we can [tonight].”
Junior Brian Asbury hit his first four field goals of the season and set the tone for the whole game.
The Hurricanes had Florida Southern in a strangle hold by halftime with a 56-25 lead.
Freshman Eddie Rios got his first collegiate points with the clock ticking down in the first half by hitting a three pointer. Rios was a ball hawk on defense leading the team with four steals to go along with his 11 points.
Halfway in the first, sophomore Dwayne Collins got the crowd hyped up when he hit a flashy spin move and finished with a power slam-dunk on the defender.
“We put the guys in the right position to play,” Haith said. “We did not miss a beat.”
Lelan LeDoux may be contacted at l.ledoux@umiami.edu.