The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats gave Miami quite a scare on Saturday afternoon, but the Hurricanes prevailed and gutted out a 78-70 win as a few clutch 3’s down the stretch from Chris Lykes, DJ Vasiljevic, and Anthony Lawrence helped the Canes pull away.
Lykes led the Canes with 21 points and six assists while Vasiljevic added 20 points, including four three-pointers for the sharpshooter. F Anthony Lawrence also played a key role with 13 points and 9 rebounds.
The duration of the game was very tight with nine ties and 16 lead changes, with the last tie coming at the 2:31 mark before Miami ended the game on an 11-3 run.
Bethune-Cookman led by just 1 at the half but their defense was stifling and aggressive, limiting Miami to just 6 makes on their first 27 shots and building a couple of 7-point leads.
Miami then began the 2nd half on a 13-2 run and even held the Wildcats to just 1-11 shooting in the first four minutes of the second half to establish a 10-point lead before Ryan Ridder’s team cut into the deficit.
G Malik Maitland had himself a game for the Wildcats as the lefty put up 29 points on the board, a new career-high to go along with 8 rebounds. Maitland even scored 21 of the team’s first 46 points. F Cletrell Pope also added a double-double off the bench with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wildcats did not attempt a free throw until the 9:34 mark of the 2nd half and to make matters worse, they had four technical fouls as a team.
The Hurricanes were again without F Dewan Hernandez as he continues to be held out due to an ongoing NCAA investigation about his eligibility.
Miami will not be on the court until Thanksgiving when they take on La Salle as part of the Wooden Classic in Fullerton, CA while Bethune-Cookman gets a couple of days off before facing Nebraska at home on Tuesday.
Lykes led the Canes with 21 points and six assists while Vasiljevic added 20 points, including four three-pointers for the sharpshooter. F Anthony Lawrence also played a key role with 13 points and 9 rebounds.
The duration of the game was very tight with nine ties and 16 lead changes, with the last tie coming at the 2:31 mark before Miami ended the game on an 11-3 run.
Bethune-Cookman led by just 1 at the half but their defense was stifling and aggressive, limiting Miami to just 6 makes on their first 27 shots and building a couple of 7-point leads.
Miami then began the 2nd half on a 13-2 run and even held the Wildcats to just 1-11 shooting in the first four minutes of the second half to establish a 10-point lead before Ryan Ridder’s team cut into the deficit.
G Malik Maitland had himself a game for the Wildcats as the lefty put up 29 points on the board, a new career-high to go along with 8 rebounds. Maitland even scored 21 of the team’s first 46 points. F Cletrell Pope also added a double-double off the bench with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wildcats did not attempt a free throw until the 9:34 mark of the 2nd half and to make matters worse, they had four technical fouls as a team.
The Hurricanes were again without F Dewan Hernandez as he continues to be held out due to an ongoing NCAA investigation about his eligibility.
Miami will not be on the court until Thanksgiving when they take on La Salle as part of the Wooden Classic in Fullerton, CA while Bethune-Cookman gets a couple of days off before facing Nebraska at home on Tuesday.
