ST. LOUIS — Malik Reneau scored a game-high 24 points and seventh-seeded Miami used an 11-0 run late in the second half to take control in a 80-66 win over 10th-seeded Missouri in a first-round NCAA Tournament West Region game on Friday.
The Hurricanes (26-8) trailed 54-52 with 7:50 remaining after Mark Mitchell drilled a top-of-the-key 3-pointer, forcing first-year Miami coach Jai Lucas to use a timeout. Miami responded with the big run.
After Tru Washington sank two foul shots, Reneau dropped a pullup jumper and then splashed a 3-pointer.
Shelton Henderson finished the spurt with a transition dunk and a jumper for a 63-54 advantage at the 4:28 mark. While Missouri tried to rally behind Mitchell, who rattled off 13 straight points by his team, it wasn’t enough.
“These three up here with me in each part of the game, they showed why they have gotten us here, to be honest with you,” Lucas said. “Malik being able to close, Tre (Donaldson) with his big shots, Shelton in the first half kind of carrying us offensively. But it was a team effort. I’m just really proud of them.”
Reneau supplied the knockout punch via a three-point play that made it 71-62 with 2:17 left, enabling the Hurricanes to advance to a second-round game on Sunday against second-seeded Purdue. The Boilermakers routed Queens 104-71 in their tournament opener.
Donaldson added 17 points for Miami, hitting a pair of late 3-pointers that complimented Reneau’s scoring in the endgame. Henderson chipped in with 15 points.
We had a good idea coming into the game what we were going to see in the stands,” Donaldson said of playing in front of a pro-Missouri crowd. “Coach’s biggest thing is just treat it like a normal road game. … I felt like we did a good job of staying poised, staying together, understanding what the task was at hand and handling it well.”
Jayden Stone scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half for the Tigers (20-13), while Mitchell finished with 19 but made only 4 of 10 shots and committed five turnovers. Anthony Robinson II came off the bench to add 11 points and five assists before fouling out with 56.3 seconds remaining.
“They have some big bodies,” Mitchell said. “Jai knows my game pretty well. I was with him for a couple years. And (Ernest) Udeh (Jr.) is a really good defender along with him also throwing bodies at me. … But they built a wall that made it hard for me most of the game. Kudos to them. …. I couldn’t really get going there until late.”
Poor shooting and rebounding hurt Missouri’s chances of tapping into its sizable crowd advantage. The Tigers made only 20 of 57 attempts from the floor (35.1%) and were outrebounded 46-30. Miami grabbed 16 offensive boards and cashed them in for 19 points.
Both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half. The Tigers connected on just 9 of 29 shots (31%), while Miami made only 10 of 33 (30.3%). However, good work on the offensive glass helped the Hurricanes take a 27-17 lead.
Missouri rallied and closed within 27-26 entering halftime when Robinson swished a 3-pointer in the final minute.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Tigers coach Dennis Gates said. “I’m proud of what we’ve done this year. You want to get to the Tournament and win games, and we (weren’t) able to do that.”
–Bucky Dent, Field Level Media
