Miami Hurricanes Outlast Georgia Tech Without Newton

Before the game against Georgia Tech, the Miami Hurricanes announced that Point Guard Ja’Quan Newton has been suspended for three games for violating an unspecified team rule. Miami then went out and defeated the Yellow Jackets 70-61 behind Davon Reed’s 21 points.

The Hurricanes broke the game open midway through the second half with a 17-4 run. That turned a 46-45 deficit into a 62-50 lead. Georgia Tech never got closer than seven the remainder of the way.

Reed bounced back from a sub par performance in Saturday’s loss to Louisville. Reed shot 3-12 from the floor and finished with seven points against the Cardinals.

In Wednesday’s victory, Reed finished with his third highest output of the season with 21 points. He finished 8-11 from the floor, made three of his four three-point attempts and also contributed seven rebounds and three steals.

With Newton out for the next two games, Reed is going to get the majority of the focus on offense from Clemson and Virginia. His efficiency with Newton out was nearly impeccable. The Hurricanes shot 21-38 as a team. His teammates combined for an adequate 13-27 from the floor.

Bruce Brown is playing the point in Newton’s absence and finished the night with eight points, three rebounds and five assists. He did struggle a bit with four turnovers. The Hurricanes continued to turn the ball over as a team with 17.

They were able to dominate a good Georgia Tech rebounding team on the glass. The Hurricanes had 31-17 advantage. Miami received another good performance off its bench. Dewan Huell and DJ Vasiljevic both had 13 points.

It was the first time Vasiljevic has been in double figures since the Hurricanes lost at Syracuse on January 4, a span of 11 games. Vasiljevic finished the night 3-6 from beyond the arc.

Huell ended his own 18 game double figure drought. His last game with at least ten points was in a victory over Rutgers on November 30. Huell finished 4-7 from the floor and 5-6 from the line. He also had two rebounds and two blocks. Huell was especially big in the second half when he scored 11 of his 13 points.

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The Hurricanes played with six scholarship players and had only seven available for most the of second half. Backup center Ebuka Izundu who started in Newton’s place went out with a knee injury 1:07 into the second half.

Miami largely won the game from the free throw line. The Hurricanes were whistled for only six fouls, while Georgia Tech was called for 18. The Canes went 22-27 from the foul line to just 2-3 for the Yellow Jackets.

Earlier in the week Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga was expecting to play with six scholarship players. Huell suffered a foot injury against Louisville and Brown is battling tonsillitis. Larranaga credited Huell’s toughness after the game.

"“How he was able to come in and go 4-for-7 from the field and give us 21 minutes on a bad foot, it was just a tremendous effort,” Larrañaga said of Huell."

Georgia Tech was led by Josh Okogie with 18 and Ben Lammers with 15 points and four blocked shots.

Next: Miami Hurricanes Have Must Wins in Next Two Games

Next Game: Miami plays the back half of a two game home stand when they host 14-11 Clemson on Saturday at 12 EST. The Hurricanes then travel to Virginia on Monday before hosting Duke on Senior Day February 25.

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