Louisville pulls away late for easy win over Miami basketball
The Miami basketball team climbed out of a 20 point first-half deficit to cut the Louisville lead to five late in the game but were not able to get any closer in a 74-58 loss to the Cardinals in the Derby City.
After digging themselves a 30-10 hole in the first half the Miami basketball team rallied valiantly to close within five multiple times in the second half before falling 74-58 at Louisville on Tuesday night. The Hurricanes were playing shorthanded as the official Canes Hoops twitter account announced Keith Stone is out indefinitely.
Graduate transfer Stone is out with a left knee injury according to CanesHoops. The Hurricanes missed Stone upfront as they are down to eight scholarship players and only three upfront. Junior center Rodney Miller and redshirt junior Sam Waardenburg and freshman Anthony Walker are the only healthy and eligible Hurricanes over 6’6.
The lack of size up front showed as the Miami basketball team was outrebounded 48-37. After falling behind 30-10 in the first half the Hurricanes were able to narrow the score to 43-32 at halftime. Miami pulled within five with the ball several times in the second half but were unable to convert to get closer.
Several times after intermission Miami had too many four to six point swings in the game went Louisville’s way in critical situations. Miami’s inability to shoot well was a major factor in the loss. Opponents are starting to key on junior point guard Chris Lykes. Lykes had another brutal night from the floor.
Redshirt senior forward Keith Stone is out indefinitely due to a left knee injury.
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) January 7, 2020
The diminutive guard scored 18 points but was only 4-16 from the floor and 2-6 on three-point attempts. Lykes went made all eight of his free throw attempts to account for nearly half his points against the Cardinals. Redshirt junior guard Kam McGusty matched Lykes’ game-high for the Hurricanes with 18 of his own.
Miami shot 27.9 percent from the floor and 25.8 percent on three-point attempts a game after clanking shots routinely against Duke in a 95-62 home loss on Saturday night. McGusty was 6-13 from the floor and made three of his seven three-point attempts in addition to going 3-5 from the free-throw line.
was the only other Hurricanes player in double figures with 12. Like Lykes, Vasiljevic struggled from the floor making just 4-16 shots and 2-11 on three-point attempts. Miami needs much greater efficiency from its star backcourt to make a serious run at an NCAA Tournament berth.
Freshman Isaiah Wong received his most extensive playing time this season but was not able to make much of an impact In 26 minutes Wong scored just three points on 1-6 from the floor. Four Cardinals scored in double figures with junior Jordan Nwora finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Louisville center Stephen Enoch had his second double-double of the season against Miami with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Dwayne Sutton was the third Cardinal to reach double figures in rebounding against the Hurricanes. The forward scored nine and contributed 13 boards.
Next. Vernon Carey making his own legacy at Duke. dark
Miami returns to the Watsco Center on Sunday night to host Pittsburgh. The Panthers play at North Carolina on Wednesday night before traveling to South Florida. Jeff Capel has done a good job turning around the Panthers’ fortunes. Pittsburgh is 9-4 this season.