CORAL GABLES, Fla. — On paper, Saturday’s home game against St. Francis (Penn.) looked like an easy outing before the 25th-ranked Miami Hurricanes face No. 2 Virginia on Tuesday.
UM was 10-1 heading into the game and 7-0 at home. The Red Flash was 3-8, and coming off a blowout loss to Hawaii, but the visitors made the Canes work.
The score was tied 37-37 at halftime. The Hurricanes picked up their energy and defensive intensity, opened the second half with an 11-2 run and pulled away for the 91-76 win.
Six Miami players scored in double figures for the first time in four years.
Miami guard Isaiah Wong, who was named ACC and National Player of the Week for his outstanding performances last week, stood out again. He led the Hurricanes with 22 points, a career-best 10 assists, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals. The 10 assists were most by a Hurricane in five years.
“Isaiah’s Isaiah, doing Isaiah things, scoring the ball at a high level, and sharing the rock; he knows what he’s doing and his confidence is through the roof,” said sophomore guard Bensley Joseph, who made his first career start in place of Nijel Pack, who was ill.
Joseph more than held his own. He scored a career high 14 points, grabbed a career high seven rebounds, and tied a career high with six assists. Joseph admitted he was a bit nervous for his first start, “a little stomach bubble,” but said once he settled down it was a fun experience.
“Bensley stepped in a got himself in a little bit of four trouble, which was a tremendous concern of mine, but he battled through, made several key three point shots, shared the ball, defended very well,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said.
Wooga Poplar also registered a career-high with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He displayed a variety of shots, from mid-range jumpers to 3s to dunks. Norchad Omier added 14 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Miller and Anthony Walker chipped in 10 points each.
Unlike the Hurricanes, who had a balanced offense, the Red Flash got 55 points from two players. Forward Josh Cohen, who had put up 40 points twice this season, scored a game-high 30 on Saturday. Freshman Landon Moore had 25.
“I was very impressed with what St. Francis was able to do on both ends of the court, especially at the offensive end,” Larranaga said. “They have several weapons. The freshman Moore was fantastic in the first half and Cohen was great in the second half. We were very fortunate our defense picked up to start the second half and we were able to get a lead.”
Larranaga said having so many players step up on Saturday should give them a boost heading into the game against Virginia. Sharing the ball has been a point of emphasis all season for the Hurricanes, and they did just that with 19 assists against St. Francis.
Miami leads the ACC with 15.6 assists per game.
“We have a list of 10 commitments and No. 7 is: We will share the ball,” Joseph said.
Wong was coming off an eight-assist game against North Carolina State and once again proved he is equally capable of playing point guard and shooting guard. On several occasions Saturday, Wong began to drive toward the lane, would see an open teammate under the basket and in a split second fire a perfect pass that led to dunks and easy layups.
“He just keeps getting better and better,” Larranaga said of Wong. “We moved him to the point because he’s good at finding the open man and good at making the open shot. So, putting the ball in his hands and letting him be the decision maker worked very effectively. He’s an easy guy to love because he works so hard at it. He’s so skillful, and he’s so team oriented.”
The Canes (11-1) will try to maintain their perfect home record on Tuesday night (8:30 p.m.) against Virginia.
