Miami loses with second straight uninspiring performance at Charleston Classic
Miami never held the lead for the second straight day and game and lost 80-74 in a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score. Oklahoma State held a double-digit lead from 7:08 remaining in the first half to 0:49 remained in the second half. Miami has failed in nearly every aspect of the game in Charleston.
Miami trailed 43-27 at halftime. The Hurricanes shot 29.6 percent from the floor and made three of their 13 three-point attempts in the first half. Miami finished the game shooting 44.8 percent from the floor but made only six of their 24 three-point shots. Oklahoma State outscored Miami 38-14 in bench points.
Oklahoma State scored the first nine points of the game after Miami allowed Drake to score the first seven points on Thursday. The Cowboys led by as many as 18 points in the first half and extended the lead to 20 in the second half. Oklahoma State still held a 10-point lead with 1:44 left in the game.
Miami finished with 27 points in the first half for the second consecutive game. Associate head coach Bill Courtney acknowledged on the postgame radio broadcast that Miami is digging itself into too big of a hole early in the game. Oklahoma State outscored Miami 6-2 to start the second half and built the 20 point lead.
Five Miami players finished in double figures led by Nijel Pack with 20 points on 7-14 from the floor, 4-7 on three-point attempts and four rebounds. Brandon Johnson finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Miami's bench mostly continued its struggles with Paul Djobet scoring 10 of the 14 points by the reserves.
Miami will play the loser between Nevada and Vanderbilt in the seventh-place game on Sunday afternoon on ESPN Plus at 12:30 Eastern Time. Miami returns home on November 30 to host Charleston Southern with a 1:00 PM ET tip-off.