Wooga Poplar scores career-high 25 points as No. 24 UM beats LaSalle 84-77 at home
Dribble less. Pass more. Rebound more. Fewer turnovers.
And, please, Norchad Omier, stay out of foul trouble.
Those were coach Jim Larranaga’s instructions to his players as the 24th-ranked Miami Hurricanes prepared to play LaSalle at home Saturday afternoon following a blowout loss to Colorado last week.
They listened and came away with an 84-77 win.
But it was not easy. The Hurricanes let an 18-point second-half lead shrink to four with under four minutes to go. A pair of Wooga Poplar free throws and eight consecutive points from Norchad Omier down the stretch helped them clinch the victory.
Poplar, who grew up in Philadelphia not far from LaSalle, was UM’s leading scorer with a career-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He sank a clutch three-pointer with 6:37 to go after the Explorers had cut UM’s lead to six points, a shot Larranaga called “the dagger.”
Omier had 23 points, eight rebounds, was 7-of-7 from the free throw line and did not commit his first foul until five minutes into the second half.
“Omier is a beast, he just knows how to play,” said LaSalle coach Fran Dunphy. “He could be standing still for a couple of seconds and all of a sudden, his next step so fast and he gets by you. He just knows how to play better than most. He gets away with not being very tall with his toughness, his intelligence and his overall savvy for the game. He’s a really impressive player.”
Dunphy was familiar with Poplar from his high school days and expected a big game from him.
“We put some pressure on them, but then they got a steal at halfcourt and Wooga makes a big three that took our heart from us,” Dunphy said. “We got it back, but that was a huge shot…Wooga’s a Philly kid. I’m sure he was saying, `I’m going to get some good shots against the LaSalle Explorers, and he did. He played really well. That one jumper was a killer.”
Poplar said he wanted to turn around the momentum as LaSalle was on a roll and felt that shot was critical. He had an injury scare, twisting his ankle after landing awkwardly while trying to dunk and limping off. But he said he felt fine after the game.
Junior guard Matthew Cleveland led Miami (8-2) on the boards, totaling nine rebounds to go along with 14 points. Guard Nijel Pack had 11 points and seven rebounds. And A.J. Casey had seven rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
Larranaga took special pride in the win because it was against a coach he greatly admires.
“Fran Dunphy is one of the great college coaches, like me, he’s a lifer, from the same generation,” Larranaga said. “We played in college at the same time. He was a very good player and is a great guy. So, it was an honor to coach against him. I’m very thankful we ended up winning. His kids are resilient. They kept fighting and coming back, cut it to four, and then we showed some resilience.”
LaSalle (8-3) made 11 three pointers and was led by Khalil Brantley with 23 points and Daeshon Shepherd with 15.
Turnovers and rebounding were Miami’s biggest weaknesses heading into the LaSalle game and points of emphasis in practice all week.
Two years ago, the Hurricanes were ranked seventh in the nation in average turnovers per game. Last year they were 47th. This week, UM ranked 225th.
“That’s a part of our game that has dramatically changed that we’re trying to correct,” Larranaga said before the game. “Our turnovers are way too high. Our starters really need to reduce their turnovers by not dribbling so much.”
The coaching staff put in a practice drill to reduce turnovers, urging players not to dribble more than twice, but rather to pass or shoot. The Hurricanes took care of the basketball against La Salle, committing just four turnovers the first half and 10 turnovers for the game after turning it over 20 times against Colorado.
“We had only four turnovers at halftime, I was very pleased, but we started the second half and had like four turnovers before the first T.V. timeout,” Larranaga said. “Fortunately, we corrected that, the guys settled down and he had only one turnover in the last 10 minutes.”
He was also pleased that UM finished with a 39-25 rebounding edge.
“That was a good team effort, and that’s what we need, gang rebounding, get everyone in the battle, so from a practical standpoint, we need to continue to build on this,” Larranaga said. “Do a better job rebounding, a better job taking care of the ball, and certainly, a better job defending.
“Expectations for us are so high. We’re a power five team trying to play with a very undersized team. It takes a total team effort for us to get where we want.”
Larranaga shared some quotes from legendary UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma with his team before the game. They had to do with body language and everyone taking pride in whatever role they play.
The players seemed to take the message to heart. Asked to assess his game Saturday, Omier said: “I’m trying to help team synergy, do whatever it takes to win the game. At the end of the game, they fouled me a lot, so a lot of my points came from the free throw line. I got a lot of offensive rebounds. I tried to do what I do good. Wooga did what he does good. Nijel. Everyone who came off the bench. If everyone adds what they do best we’re going to be a great team.”
Miami plays at home again Thursday against Stonehill.
