Isaiah Wong collected 22 points, a career-high 10 assists and five rebounds to lead 25th-ranked Miami to a 91-76 win over the visiting St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Bensley Joseph, making his first career start, posted 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Hurricanes (11-1) improved to 8-0 at home.
Wooga Poplar, another Miami sophomore, scored a career-high 20 points.
St. Francis (3-9) fell to 0-6 on the road.
Red Flash forward Josh Cohen, the only player in the country who has scored at least 40 points twice this season, had his first shot blocked 15 feet by Wong.
But Cohen recovered and finished with a game-high 30 points and nine rebounds. He made 10 of 16 shots from the floor and 10 of 13 shots from the foul line. He entered the game averaging 21.4 points and 7.7 rebounds.
St. Francis also received 25 points from freshman Landon Moore, who made 8 of 16 shots.
The Hurricanes blocked 10 shots, including two on Cohen. St. Francis had one block.
Miami changed its starting lineup for the first time this season as it went without point guard Nijel Pack (illness).
Joseph, who replaced Pack, made 5 of 7 shots, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. Miami also got 14 points and eight rebounds from Norchad Omier. Jordan Miller and Anthony Walker each added 10 points.
The first half was tied 37-37 but only after Wong left his man, stole the ball from Moore with 4.3 seconds left and raced for a dunk that just beat the buzzer.
There were 13 lead changes and six ties in the first half, which featured 16 points from Moore and 10 from Cohen.
Wong led Miami in the first half with nine points and four assists. He had seven of Miami’s first 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting, including a 3-pointer.
St. Francis did not have a turnover or foul in the game’s first 15 minutes. The Red Flash also went on an 8-0 run to take a 20-14 run, although Miami answered immediately with seven straight points.
Miami started the second half on a 7-0 run, and the Red Flash never recovered.
The Hurricanes finished the game shooting 53.0 percent from the floor. The Red Flash shot 42.6 percent.
–Field Level Media
