The Miami Hurricanes fight back from a halftime deficit, igniting a late surge to secure a hard-fought victory against the Stanford Cardinal.
Miami, FL - After a crucial bounce-back victory against the Syracuse Orange on Saturday, with a final score of 85-76, the Miami Hurricanes sought to regain ground within the ACC, facing the Stanford Cardinal. They've been led by guard Ebuka Okorie, who's regarded as one of the best freshmen in the nation.
However, in Wednesday night's matchup, the former four-star recruit was without his partner in crime, senior forward Chisom Okpara, who was sidelined for a third consecutive game due to injury. Also, the Cardinal were without sophomore forward Tallis Toure and freshman forward Kristers Skrinda.
The Hurricanes remained without sophomore forward Marcus Allen (non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis; out for season) and freshman forward Tryven Maddox.
The starting lineups:
Hurricanes: Tre Donaldson-Dante Allen-Shelton Henderson-Malik Reneau-Ernest Udeh Jr.
Cardinal: Ebuka Okorie-Ryan Agarwal-Jeremy Dent-Smith-Donavin Young-AJ Rohosy
Hurricanes junior guard Tru Washington was moved to a reserve role after starting in all previous 19 games available throughout the season. Allen started in Saturday's matchup against the Oranges.
Right after the tip, senior guard Tre Donaldson was the first to punch the scoreboard with a three-pointer from the top of the key. The Hurricanes sparked an early 11-2 run, with the 22-year-old leading the charge, scoring seven of those points.
However, the Cardinal closed the first half with a 14-4 run to gain a 40-35 lead heading into halftime. Okorie finished with 11 first-half points, including an aggressive one-handed dunk.
The Cardinal made seven three-pointers compared to the Hurricanes' two. They appeared to have complete control in the second half until freshman guard Dante Allen scored five critical points to tie and regain the lead. It ignited an 18-5 run, which was enough for the Hurricanes to finish victorious, with a final score of 79-70.
Okorie was held to eight second-half points. Despite finishing with 19 points, he shot 38.1 percent from the field, below his season average of 41.9 percent.
"I think we did well containing Ebuka [who made eight shots out of 21 attempts and one three-pointer out of five attempts]," Malik Reneau said. "It took him a lot of shots to get what he needed. I think we did very well in covering him."
The senior forward finished with 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists in 38 minutes of action.
The Hurricanes forced 14 total turnovers, which resulted in 17 points, along with 38 paint points.
"I was worried about the start," Jai Lucas said. "They [Cardinal] have such a dynamic player [in Okorie] who can change the game. We just died out, gassed out, halfway through, and they were able to make a run. Our guys and our team have shown the grit and resilience to be able to battle, keep competing, and respond to whatever is going on during the game."
"I was very impressed with their fight."
The Hurricanes will host another California program, the California Golden Bears, on Saturday. They have an NBA talent in sophomore guard Justin Pippin, son of NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. He's averaging 15.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on the season.
The Hurricanes continue to take charge in the ACC, improving to a 17-4 overall record, 6-2 in ACC play. Lucas is establishing a successful culture.
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