All five Hurricanes starters score in double figures as Miami routs Stonehill 97-59
The Miami Hurricanes, who dropped out of the Top 25 at the beginning of the week, head into Christmas on a happy note after overwhelming Stonehill College 97-59 Thursday night at the Watsco Center.
Wooga Poplar led the scoring barrage with 24 points, one shy of the career-best 25 he put up five days ago against LaSalle. Norchad Omier had a double-double before halftime and finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Matt Cleveland added 15, all of them in the first half.
Bensley Joseph had 12 points, eight assists and three steals. And Swiss freshman Kyshawn George, starting in place of injured Nijel Pack, chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
“Our team is kind of built around him,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said of Omier. “He is the anchor to our defense. He is the anchor to our offense. That’s why have to keep him out of foul trouble and keep him on the court to play as many minutes as he can.”
The Canes (9-2) led from start to finish. They raced to a 20-3 lead on a Poplar steal and thunderous dunk. A 19-2 Miami run stretched the lead to 30 points and Larranaga used the opportunity to give bench players Christian Watson and A.J. Casey significant minutes. Casey tied a career-high with eight points and added five rebounds in 15 minutes.
An Omier dunk with 6:34 to go put the Hurricanes ahead by 40 points. All 12 players on Miami’s roster got into the game, much to the delight of the fans, who roared when seldom-used freshman Paul Djobet made a three-pointer. Freshmen Carson Mastin and Nick Cassano also played.
The night ended with Mastin, Cassano, Djobet, Michael Nwoko and Jakai Robinson on the floor.
“I’m happy we had five guys in double figures,” Larranaga said. “I’m happy we outrebounded them 52-27. I did not like the 13 turnovers, especially the ones at the very end. I did like the 26 assists.”
The Hurricanes, coming off a historic Final Four run last spring, came into the game as heavy favorites.
Stonehill, a private Catholic college in Easton, Massachusetts, moved up to Division 1 athletics last year and was 2-11 entering Thursday’s game. Despite being overmatched, the Skyhawks have not shied away from tough competition this season. They lost by 40 to No. 5 UConn, by 44 to St. Joe’s, and by 34 to No. 9 Kentucky.
Pack missed the game with a lower leg injury but is expected to return for the next home game Dec. 29 against North Florida.
Sophomore guard Tony Felder led Stonehill with 22 points and Se’yphon Triplett had 16.
“We’re getting better, but we’re not where we want to be,” Omier said. “It’s no secret we could do better on defense in big games and share the ball more. Everytime we play great defense, the offense just flows. We’re not a really tall team, so we have to box out and rebound. But we’re on a good road as we head into the conference.”
Joseph was asked whether being dropped from the Top 25 motivated the Hurricanes. He replied: “It’s something you hear about and it’s cool because we know who we are. We know what we’re chasing and the goals we have for each other, so the ranking thing doesn’t mean thing. It doesn’t faze me or the team. We just go out there and stack as many wins because we know that’s what matters is playing well and hard every day.”
