CORAL GABLES, FL. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team dominated the final 26 minutes of its Wednesday night matchup with Lipscomb, en route to a 76-59 victory at the Watsco Center.
Sixth-year redshirt senior guard Kameron McGusty dazzled with a career-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting to help Miami (7-3, 1-0 ACC) win its third consecutive game.
“I thought the guys did a very good job of making adjustments constantly throughout the game,” Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga said. “…We ended up going with a small lineup and those guys did a terrific job. They scrambled, forced some turnovers. They showed some real quickness and athletic ability, and then were able to score in transition.”
Lipscomb (5-5) built an early three-point lead behind a 3-of-6 clip from deep compared to Miami’s 0-of-4 mark. The Hurricanes, however, forced misses on the Bisons’ final six long-range attempts of the half and began to take control of the game.
Miami used a 14-0 run in just 4:25 to turn that three-point deficit into an 11-point edge, 35-24, with 1:17 on the clock. The surge included back-to-back dunks by third-year sophomore guard Isaiah Wong and fourth-year junior guard Jordan Miller, followed by a run-capping 3-pointer by McGusty.
The Hurricanes held Lipscomb scoreless for 5:31, as it committed three turnovers and missed six straight field goals before connecting in the final half-minute to make it a nine-point margin, 35-26, at the break. McGusty tallied 12 points in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 5-of-8 from the floor, while Miller logged three steals and two blocks at the other end.
Lipscomb pulled within eight—the closest it would get—early in the second half, but Miami countered with a 13-5 run to double its advantage to 16, 55-39, with 12:45 to go. Its lead never dipped below 14 points the rest of the way.
The Hurricanes upped their edge as high as 19, their second-largest in any game all year, on their way to a 17-point win, also their second-biggest of 2021-22.
Along with setting a career best in points, McGusty also set new top marks in field goals made and attempted, the former by two and the latter by one. He shot 4-of-7 from 3-point range, made his lone free throw and added a career-best three blocked shots.
“I thought Kam got it rolling and the other guys were very, very confident in his shot-making,” Larrañaga said. “They kept getting him the ball in transition. He made some baskets in the half-court level. We sent him a lot of ball screens; he shot well off the ball screen. Charlie Moore has a good feel for who’s got the hot hand and he was able to get the ball to Kam.”
Wong totaled 20 points on a blistering 9-of-13 shooting, including an 8-of-9 mark inside the arc. Miller logged 12 points, a season-high eight rebounds, career-high five steals and career-high three blocks, the latter three marks leading all players Wednesday. Moore chipped in eight points, a season-high six rebounds and four assists.
Just one Lipscomb player finished with double-digit points, as sophomore forward Kaleb Coleman totaled 12 off the bench. Five others notched between six and nine points in the setback.
The Hurricanes, who shot over 50 percent in both halves, ended the night with a 51.6 percent ledger (33-of-64), their second-highest mark of the season. They also held Lipscomb below 40 percent in both frames and to just a 37.1 percent tally (23-of-62) overall.
In addition, Miami’s 11 steals tied its top total of the year, while its 18 assists tied for second-highest mark.
The Hurricanes now travel to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., where they square off with Fordham Sunday at 11:30 a.m. in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational, live on FloSports.
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