No. 13 Miami outlasts Princeton 76-64

By foxsports
Published

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) Miami didn't mind Princeton's upset scare.

Angel Rodriguez scored 14 points and the 13th-ranked Hurricanes withstood the upset bid, beating the Tigers 76-64 on Tuesday night.

Davon Reed finished with 13 points and Ja'Quan Newton scored all of his 13 in the second half for the Hurricanes (11-1).

''Honestly, I thought that was exactly what the doctor ordered,'' Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. ''We needed a challenge. We needed a gut check, someone to really test us. We needed to be behind and have to come back.''

Rodriguez's two free throws and 3-pointer during a 1-minute stretch late in the second half put the Hurricanes ahead for good. Rodriguez's conversion from behind the arc with 5:02 left gave Miami a 62-58 lead.

Reed scored six points in the final 1:56 to help Miami pull away in its final non-conference game before the ACC schedule begins Saturday.

''We just had to lock in defensively, make some stops, get some rebounds and play the game how we want to play,'' Reed said.

Amir Bell scored 17 points, Henry Caruso finished with 14 and Devin Cannady added 13 for the Tigers (7-4).

''I thought we were right there,'' Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. ''The guys competed. They were not afraid. They answered everything that was thrown at them.''

Ivan Cruz Uceda scored five points during a 10-0 run midway through the second half that helped the Hurricanes erase a six-point deficit. Cruz Uceda's corner 3-pointer with 8:02 remaining capped the run and put Miami ahead 57-53.

Miami shot 62 percent from the field in the second half.

''Those guys did a fantastic job of stepping up,'' Larranaga said. ''Once we started to get it going, the crowd went crazy.''

Princeton responded with five straight points for its last lead, 58-57.

The Tigers built a three-point lead at halftime then outscored Miami 9-6 in the first 4:19 of the second half. Bell's layup and 3-pointer helped the Tigers extend their lead to 39-33.Princeton closed the first half on an 11-1 run. Bell's 3-pointer from the top of the key with .04 seconds left put the Tigers up 30-27.

Despite shooting 39 percent from the field in the first half, Princeton scored 13 points off seven Miami turnovers.

''Give credit to a good team,'' Reed said. ''They made shots. We made some ill-advised turnovers. They got breaks and some easy baskets.''

The schools met for the first time in 67 years, when they split two games in 1947-48.

''That's a very good Miami team and we gave ourselves an opportunity to win,'' Henderson said.''

DOUBLE DIGIT IMPROVEMENT: Newton has scored in double digits 10 times this season after only four double figure outings as a freshman.

ACC FAMILIARITY: Miami became the fourth ACC team the Tigers faced in Henderson's five seasons as coach. Princeton has played North Carolina State, Florida State and Wake Forest in regular season games.

TIP-INS:

Princeton: Cannady is the Ivy League co-player of the week after his 17-point effort in the Tigers' 89-77 win over Bucknell on Dec. 22. Cannady shared the recognition with Dartmouth's Evan Boudreaux.

Miami: All 10 of the Hurricanes' scholarship players already have scored in double figures in at least one game this season. Ten of Miami's 11 scholarship players accomplished the feat in 2014-15.

UP NEXT:

Princeton visits Hampton on Sunday.

Miami hosts Syracuse on Saturday.