Miami had four turnovers and went one for three from the free throw line in the final five minutes of the game. That included Walker missing the front end of the one and one.
You have to take care of the ball and hit free throws to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Those are going to have to be things the Hurricanes who return for 2018-19 work on.
Saturday Blitz
Miami did dominate on the boards outrebounding Loyola 30-23. In addition to hitting the game-winning shot, Ingram led Loyola with seven rebounds. He was one of four Ramblers in double figures. Custer led Loyola with 14, Ingram had 13, Aundre Jackson had 12 and Krutwig 11.
One of the most disheartening things about the loss is that Miami did a great job on Ingram throughout the game. He finished the game 5-14 and 3-8 on threes. Custer finished 5-10 from the floor and made four his six three-point attempts.
Miami allowed Loyola to shoot 47.3 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent on threes. That was one of the keys to the game for the Hurricanes and they were unable to do it. The turnovers and poor free shooting also played a role.
Now Miami moves into next season without Ja’Quan Newton, almost definitely without Lonnie Walker and Bruce Brown also likely to move on. What’s next? The rest of the team returns but the Hurricanes will lose their star power with Brown and Walker.
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Miami currently has no recruiting committed or signed. Next season could be a step-down. It was a tough way for the season to end, but the Hurricanes had a chance to pull away and couldn’t.