After dropping seven in a row, Miami broke out of its funk with a much-needed 94-75 win over Presbyterian last Sunday.
Now the Hurricanes (4-7) will try to string together consecutive wins for the first time since opening the season at 3-0 when they host Mount St. Mary’s (7-4) on Saturday afternoon.
An Elite Eight team last season, Miami hasn’t had it easy this year. But coach Jim Larranaga points out that battling through tough times mentally is important.
“Well, it’s a long season and you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Larranaga said, according to SI.com. “The thing I kept emphasizing and emphasizing to them at our meetings yesterday is history and (there is) nothing we can do about yesterday.”
What the Hurricanes can do is continue to strive to get the balanced scoring it received in its first win since beating Coppin State 93-63 on Nov. 17.
Three players scored 20 or more in the win over Presbyterian, including Matthew Cleveland, who poured in a career-high 24. Brandon Johnson chipped in 22 and Lynn Kidd recorded his second straight double-double, scoring 20 and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Kidd is averaging 11.7 points per outing while Cleveland (10.6) and Johnson (10.1) are also averaging in double figures.
Miami shot a sizzling 67.3 percent from the field in the victory, setting a school record and pushing their season shooting percentage to 49.5.
Leading scorer Nijel Pack (13.9) isn’t expected to play this weekend as he continues to battle a foot injury and Larranaga told reporters after Sunday’s win that he isn’t sure when the star guard will return.
Mount St. Mary’s is coming off an 80-72 win over LIU and is 6-3 in non-conference games this season. The date with the Hurricanes will be the Mountaineers’ first against an ACC opponent this year.
Dallas Hobbs is their leading scorer, averaging 14.0 points per game while dishing out 3.7 assists. He won’t shy away from facing a power conference foe. On Nov. 8 against Maryland, Hobbs scored a season-high 21 points in an 86-52 loss on the road.
“We have a lot of guys who want to take the big shot, who want to make that play,” first-year coach Donny Lind told the Frederick News-Post earlier this month.
–Field Level Media
