Tre Donaldson tied his career high with 27 points to lead Miami to a 91-81 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday inside the Watsco Center.
Donaldson was 8-of-13 from the field and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe and dished out 10 assists marking his fifth double-double with points and assists this season.
The win marks the ninth in a row for Miami to move the Hurricanes to 14-2 on the year and 3-0 in conference play.
The Hurricanes swarmed the Yellow Jackets early, opening the game on a 15-2 run led by Shelton Henderson’s seven points on a pair of dunks and a 3-pointer. Georgia Tech (10-6, 1-2 ACC) trimmed the lead down to seven, 31-24, with just over six minutes left in the half before Miami outscored the Yellow Jackets 16-9 to take a 47-33 lead at the break.
Henderson led the way in the first half as he scored 14 of his 17 points as Donaldson added 12. The Hurricanes shot 50% from the floor while holding Georgia Tech to 33.3%.
Georgia Tech came out strong to begin the second half and cut the lead to 11 before a Malik Reneau layup and an Ernest Udeh Jr. alley-oop pushed the lead back up to 15, forcing Tech to call a timeout.
The two teams went back-and-forth before the Yellow Jackets got within five, 77-72, with just over four minutes remaining in the game forcing Miami to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Timo Malovec buried a 3-pointer to extend the advantage back to eight.
With Miami leading by five, Donaldson hit a free-throw line jumper before hitting a clutch 3-pointer to give the Hurricanes an 88-79 lead with 39 seconds remaining. Down the stretch, Miami hit three of its four free throws to put the game away.
Udeh recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, marking his 10th game with 10-or-more rebounds.
For the game, Miami shot 53.6% from the field and forced 14 turnovers while dishing out 20 assists.
Miami hits the road Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup at Notre Dame. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard locally on the airwaves on 560 AM WQAM.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Jai Lucas
Opening statement…
“I mean, wins are hard to come by, especially in the conference. And the league is so much better this year not just with the quality of players but also with the quality of players, coaches become better too. Damon’s always been a great coach, but he’s just got better players this year than he’s had before and he’s always done a good job with everything he does, his game plan, his prep, everything. You know, my big thing for the team was they always fight back. They’ve been down almost every game that they’ve been in and they always come back and make it competitive and today was no different. I just felt like we just had a few too many lapses offensively and defensively that kind of helped them and helped them get back in the game, but they did a great job of competing. He changed up his whole game plan. You know, he went really small, spread the court, did stuff a little bit different than they had played. And so, you know, it’s a testament to him. And then the testament to our guys is just battling and just sticking through and finding a way to win. You know, the hardest thing to do is win. No matter how you get it done.”
On Tre’s development and late-game performance…
“You know, he’s got the gene at the end of the game, and it’s what we saw when we recruited him. You know, he’s done it everywhere he’s been. He did it in high school, did it at Auburn, and then they really showed it last year at Michigan, some of the big shots he hit. You think about the Big Ten Championship in the tournament. He gets a full-court layup, same situation. He loves those moments. And he’s delivered. He’s delivered these three conference games. He’s delivered for us down the stretch. And so, you know, in those moments, I trust him. I trust him to make the right plays.”
On Ernest’s impact offensively…
“Yeah, just for what is the extent of his role. I mean, I say it all the time. I say it all the time. He’s like a great wide receiver. It’s like our version of Malik Nabers. You know what I mean? We put him in these different ball screen role situations and you throw a lob and he can go get it. He’s up there somewhere. So it just opens everything else when you have somebody that’s such a lob threat and can put pressure on the rim and the defense that has to adjust what they’re going to do. And he did a good job of that again today. And his rebounding has been the most impressive thing for me.”
Tre Donaldson, Guard, Senior
On leading the conference and country in assist-to-turnover ratio…
“I mean, all glory goes to God, and just coach put me in the right situation and these guys. Just when coach puts me in the right situation and we get that advantage as we want, just being able to execute, get it there on time and on target, and get these guys in areas where they thrive, that’s my biggest thing. And then just continue to lead and to do that for them.”
On his growth as a leader…
“I’ve been on a long journey, and I’m just proud of myself and just the people around me. I have my coaching staff, and then my family, and everybody just continues to push me and kind of be on my shoulder like a chip. And then just be myself and lead these guys. That’s my biggest thing. I want to win so bad. Whatever it takes to win, I’m going to do it, and if it’s just going my way offensively.”
Ernest Udeh Jr., Center, Senior
On his improved free-throw shooting…
“No, honestly, you know, it’s funny talking about that. On kind of just what exactly Tre started with, my faith for me has carried me throughout my entire basketball career. Jesus has been with me since I was born. And constant conversations to myself, just thinking about, obviously, the things that I can do to just improve my game and obviously help my team win in those areas.”
On trusting the work…
“So obviously, when I get out there and I’m shooting, I’m not thinking. I’m not thinking about anything else but the work I put in and knowing that and trusting that it’s going to go in when I get it up. So obviously, like you said, it’s a big key for us in our success, and obviously it helps me personally, of course. But it’s just something I’m going to continue to improve and work on.”
Donaldson was 8-of-13 from the field and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe and dished out 10 assists marking his fifth double-double with points and assists this season.
The win marks the ninth in a row for Miami to move the Hurricanes to 14-2 on the year and 3-0 in conference play.
The Hurricanes swarmed the Yellow Jackets early, opening the game on a 15-2 run led by Shelton Henderson’s seven points on a pair of dunks and a 3-pointer. Georgia Tech (10-6, 1-2 ACC) trimmed the lead down to seven, 31-24, with just over six minutes left in the half before Miami outscored the Yellow Jackets 16-9 to take a 47-33 lead at the break.
Henderson led the way in the first half as he scored 14 of his 17 points as Donaldson added 12. The Hurricanes shot 50% from the floor while holding Georgia Tech to 33.3%.
Georgia Tech came out strong to begin the second half and cut the lead to 11 before a Malik Reneau layup and an Ernest Udeh Jr. alley-oop pushed the lead back up to 15, forcing Tech to call a timeout.
The two teams went back-and-forth before the Yellow Jackets got within five, 77-72, with just over four minutes remaining in the game forcing Miami to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Timo Malovec buried a 3-pointer to extend the advantage back to eight.
With Miami leading by five, Donaldson hit a free-throw line jumper before hitting a clutch 3-pointer to give the Hurricanes an 88-79 lead with 39 seconds remaining. Down the stretch, Miami hit three of its four free throws to put the game away.
Udeh recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, marking his 10th game with 10-or-more rebounds.
For the game, Miami shot 53.6% from the field and forced 14 turnovers while dishing out 20 assists.
Miami hits the road Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup at Notre Dame. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard locally on the airwaves on 560 AM WQAM.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Jai Lucas
Opening statement…
“I mean, wins are hard to come by, especially in the conference. And the league is so much better this year not just with the quality of players but also with the quality of players, coaches become better too. Damon’s always been a great coach, but he’s just got better players this year than he’s had before and he’s always done a good job with everything he does, his game plan, his prep, everything. You know, my big thing for the team was they always fight back. They’ve been down almost every game that they’ve been in and they always come back and make it competitive and today was no different. I just felt like we just had a few too many lapses offensively and defensively that kind of helped them and helped them get back in the game, but they did a great job of competing. He changed up his whole game plan. You know, he went really small, spread the court, did stuff a little bit different than they had played. And so, you know, it’s a testament to him. And then the testament to our guys is just battling and just sticking through and finding a way to win. You know, the hardest thing to do is win. No matter how you get it done.”
On Tre’s development and late-game performance…
“You know, he’s got the gene at the end of the game, and it’s what we saw when we recruited him. You know, he’s done it everywhere he’s been. He did it in high school, did it at Auburn, and then they really showed it last year at Michigan, some of the big shots he hit. You think about the Big Ten Championship in the tournament. He gets a full-court layup, same situation. He loves those moments. And he’s delivered. He’s delivered these three conference games. He’s delivered for us down the stretch. And so, you know, in those moments, I trust him. I trust him to make the right plays.”
On Ernest’s impact offensively…
“Yeah, just for what is the extent of his role. I mean, I say it all the time. I say it all the time. He’s like a great wide receiver. It’s like our version of Malik Nabers. You know what I mean? We put him in these different ball screen role situations and you throw a lob and he can go get it. He’s up there somewhere. So it just opens everything else when you have somebody that’s such a lob threat and can put pressure on the rim and the defense that has to adjust what they’re going to do. And he did a good job of that again today. And his rebounding has been the most impressive thing for me.”
Tre Donaldson, Guard, Senior
On leading the conference and country in assist-to-turnover ratio…
“I mean, all glory goes to God, and just coach put me in the right situation and these guys. Just when coach puts me in the right situation and we get that advantage as we want, just being able to execute, get it there on time and on target, and get these guys in areas where they thrive, that’s my biggest thing. And then just continue to lead and to do that for them.”
On his growth as a leader…
“I’ve been on a long journey, and I’m just proud of myself and just the people around me. I have my coaching staff, and then my family, and everybody just continues to push me and kind of be on my shoulder like a chip. And then just be myself and lead these guys. That’s my biggest thing. I want to win so bad. Whatever it takes to win, I’m going to do it, and if it’s just going my way offensively.”
Ernest Udeh Jr., Center, Senior
On his improved free-throw shooting…
“No, honestly, you know, it’s funny talking about that. On kind of just what exactly Tre started with, my faith for me has carried me throughout my entire basketball career. Jesus has been with me since I was born. And constant conversations to myself, just thinking about, obviously, the things that I can do to just improve my game and obviously help my team win in those areas.”
On trusting the work…
“So obviously, when I get out there and I’m shooting, I’m not thinking. I’m not thinking about anything else but the work I put in and knowing that and trusting that it’s going to go in when I get it up. So obviously, like you said, it’s a big key for us in our success, and obviously it helps me personally, of course. But it’s just something I’m going to continue to improve and work on.”
