Slow starts and strong finishes. No one quite knows why, but the Miami Hurricanes seem to live by this rule each and every game no matter the opponent.
With impressive second half showings from Sheldon McClellan and Ja’Quan Newton, the Miami Hurricanes improved to 15-3 overall and 4-2 in the ACC with a 77-63 win over Wake Forest.
In the first few minutes of the game, it seemed as though Miami might finally shake the formula that has resulted in sluggish and underwhelming first halves over the past month. The Hurricanes opened the game on an 8-3 run including two three-pointers from a resurgent Angel Rodriguez and against a 10-8 Wake Forest team, it seemed the Canes would run away with it, but that thought ended real quickly.
The Demon Deacons responded with a 7-0 run of their own and with the game tied at 10-10 the two teams couldn’t create any separation over the next 15 minutes of the first half.
Part of those underwhelming first halves have been the reluctance of Sheldon McClellan and Ja’Quan Newton to be aggressive and in turn, not fill up the stat sheet.
“I don’t know what it is about the first half, but I just can’t score,” Sheldon McClellan said of his first half struggles. “Over the last few games it’s been tough early on, but then I just seem to be more aggressive later on in the game.”
That rang true once again at the BankUnited Center as McClellan finished with just four first half points on only 2-of-4 shooting and the Canes led by a score of just 35-33 after a late run from Wake to head into the break.
Like we have seen almost on constant replay over the past month, the Hurricanes sprung into the life at the start of the second half and it was McClellan and Newton leading the way once again. Despite the two breaking out of their first half slump, the Canes couldn’t pull away as the two teams were tied 48-48 with 10:19 left. From there on out, the Hurricanes dominated.
After a 17-3 run which got the BUC crowd rocking, the Canes led 65-51 and looked to be in the clear from a desperate Wake Forest squad. Sheldon McClellan’s 10 second half points and 14 points overall were crucial and combined with a strong defensive team effort, the Canes cruised to a 77-63 win.
While McClellan was impressive, the story of this season has clearly been the emergence of Ja’Quan Newton. The sophomore guard finished with 18 points, 13 of which came in the second half, and was the driving force behind Miami’s late surge.
“I think in the first halves I just try to recognize how the defenses are playing me and then in the second halves I can find the weaknesses and attack,” Ja’Quan Newton said.
Clearly whatever Newton’s doing during the halftime break is working and he is becoming a guy that Miami relies on to dominate in the second half. Making things even scarier for ACC opponents is the fact this kid is still learning as just a sophomore. When he gets to his senior year, he’s going to be a whole lot to handle for opponents.
While Newton’s offensive performance was great, both he and Coach Larranaga after the game stressed the importance of the team’s defense which was once again immense in leading the Hurricanes to victory. Wake Forest’s 63 points meant the Canes have now held their opponents to 66 points or under in 10 of the last 11 games. For a team that seemingly was offense-heavy to begin the season, defense has become their true identity over this most recent stretch.
“Our defense in the second half was the difference,” Coach Larranaga said after the game. “That kind of defense was what separated us when the game was tied at 48 and they couldn’t get as many easy baskets as they did in the first half.”
With great defense, superstar performances from Newton and McClellan and bench production that resulted in 33 points from the reserves, this team is almost impossible to beat. This win wasn’t as comprehensive a victory as the wins over Utah or Butler were, but any conference win is a good one as we’ve seen top teams get upset across the country.
No one quite knows why Miami starts and ends the way they do, but as long as they come away with the victory, the rest doesn’t matter.