Miami led 32-13 in the first half, 41-29 at halftime, but were outscored 49-17 in the second half of a 78-68 loss at Boston College on Wednesday. The game was the first for Miami under interim head coach Bill Courtney. Courtney replaced Jim Larranaga who resigned last week.
The game was a tale of two halves. Miami made 17 of their 33 attempts in the first half but shot only 10-35 in the second half. Boston College shot 11-29 in the first half and made 15-27 in the second half. Miami played with a lot of energy in the first half but did not play with a sense of urgency in the final 20 minutes.
Matthew Cleveland led Miami by scoring 15 of his 21 points in the second half. Lynn Kidd had 14 with 11 in the first half and Paul Djobet scored eight of his 10 in the opening 20 minutes. Boston College had five players in double-figures with 17 points. Three Boston College players had double figures in the second half.
The 32-13 Miami lead came with 8:38 in the first half. Miami was outscored 65-36 the rest of the game. Miami made only five of its 23 three-point attempts, while Boston College made five of 13. Boston College finished with a 40-33 rebounding advantage with a 24-16 edge on the boards in the second half.
Final: BC 78, Miami 68
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) January 1, 2025
Nijel Pack missed his third consecutive game. Miami received only nine points from its backcourt in the second half without Pack. The Hurricanes also had seven second-half turnovers after only four in the first half. Miami lost its 12th consecutive ACC game on Wednesday, Miami falls to 4-9 overall and 0-2 in the ACC.
Miami will play at Virginia Tech before returning home on January 8 to host Florida State. Florida State begins a two-game homestand with Wake Forest coming to Coral Gables on January 11. Miami has a lot to figure out while Courtney is the interim coach for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.