Shorthanded Hurricanes battled fiercely but ultimately fell to the California Golden Bears in a nail-biting, back-and-forth contest decided by a single point.
Miami, FL - After a stunning victory over the Stanford Cardinal on Wednesday night, with a final score of 79-70, the Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team sought to remain among the top of the ACC standings. They would host another California program in the Golden Bears, who were coming off a loss against the Florida State Seminoles on Wednesday, while honoring Hispanic Heritage.
Both sides would be shorthanded, as the Hurricanes were without sophomore forward Marcus Allen (non-Hodgkin lymphoma; out for season) and freshman forward Treyvon Maddox.
The biggest loss was Tru Washington (personal reasons), who's been a key rotation piece throughout the season. The junior guard is averaging 11.9 points, four rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.9 steals while shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from three-point range in 20 games.
The Golden Bears were without five players: freshman guard Jovani Ruff, sophomore forward Sammie Yeanay, sophomore guard Stephon Marbury II, senior forward Rytis Petraitis, and senior forward Lee Dort.
The starting lineups:
Hurricanes: Tre Donaldson-Dante Allen-Shelton Henderson-Malike Reneau-Ernest Udeh Jr.
Golden Bears: Justin Pippen-Dai Dai Ames-Chris Bell-John Camden-Milos Ilic
Right after the tip, it was a bunch of back and forth, with five ties and seven lead changes.
The Hurricanes held strong until the Golden Bears broke through with an explosive 19-5 run. However, after a block from freshman center Salih Altuntas, there was a sense of new life found. The Hurricanes closed the first half with a 9-3 run, capped by a crucial three-pointer by freshman guard Dante Allen.
The Golden Bears made six three-pointers in the first 20 minutes of regulation, with senior forward John Camden leading the charge with 19 points, including a couple of three-pointers made.
Freshman forward Shelton Henderson was the most consistent player offensively for the Hurricanes, scoring 12 points off mid-range shots in the paint. Despite being shorthanded, the team showed resilience, mixing between zone and man defense.
The score was 46-45 heading into halftime, with the Hurricanes trailing.
The intensity translated towards the second half. However, the biggest difference was the insertion of senior forward Malik Reneau, who had four points in the first 20 minutes of the game due to two early fouls. He would score 20 points through the final stretches.
The Hurricanes sparked a 12-3 run, and were in the bonus for the remaining 13 minutes of the game. Plus, the Golden Bears lost a couple of centers in Milos Ilic and Mantas Kocanas due to fouling out. They went with redshirt sophomore Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut to finish the game.
Despite what would usually be a free-throw advantage, the Hurricanes' struggles from the line ended up hurting them in the end. Manyiel Dut's only two points of the game, a layup, ended up being the game winner.
The final score was 86-85, with the Golden Bears pulling off a major upset.
The Hurricanes had two chances to win the game, both getting decent looks at the rim, but the ball would not fall through the net. Despite having five players score in double figures, it wasn't enough to combat the early three-point shooting and free-throw makes.
"Towards the end, like the last nine minutes, it became a free throw battle," Jai Lucas told media after the game. "The fouls were just being called everywhere. It kind of changed the game. We missed some, they [Golden Bears] made theirs, and in these games, it's hard to win [that way]."
"The margins are so slim."
The Hurricanes finished making 23 free throws out of 33 attempts, 69.7 percent; the Golden Bears made 24 out of 32, 75 percent.
Reneau finished with 24 points, six rebounds, two assist, and a block in 30 minutes. Henderson followed with 16 points, five rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 33 minutes, and a team high +8 in the plus-minus box.
The team's record falls to 17-5, 6-3 against ACC opponents, traveling to the Northeast to face the Boston College Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 7th.
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