Miami Hurricanes vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Box Score on Dec 23, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 23, 2017

HONOLULU -- With 16 points each from Dewan Huell and Ja'Quan Newton, No. 6 Miami (10-0) broke open a close game midway through the second half and pulled away from host Hawaii (7-3) for a 75-57 victory in Friday night's first-round matchup in the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Hurricanes will face 10-2 New Mexico State, a 69-68 winner over Davidson, in Saturday's second semifinal.

Miami used its size advantage to outscore the Rainbows 44-20 in the paint. A rapid-fire 9-0 burst from 13:13 to 10:50 of the second half gave the Canes a 57-44 advantage and, for practical purposes, settled the issue. Guard DJ Vasiljevic had two three-pointers during the decisive stretch, accounting for all his points.

Scoring easily on the inside, Miami raced to an early 10-2 advantage only to watch the Rainbows mount an 11-2 run of their own on the strength of their outside shooting. Hawaii led 18-14 with 10:33 left in the half after a Jack Purchase three-pointer and a dunk from Ido Flaisher.

Miami finished off a 5-0 run with a Lawrence dunk at 8:44, and from that point on, neither team led by more than four points before the break. They left the court at halftime tied at 33 after Drammeh drained a jumper from 18 feet five seconds before the break.

Sheriff Drammeh, who scored a game-high 17 points, paced the Rainbows with 12 in the first-half. Anthony Lawrence II had nine to lead the Hurricanes and finished with 11 for the game. Miami held a 22-10 first-half advantage in the paint, but Hawaii countered with 5-of-13 shooting from long range to 1-of-7 from distance for the Canes.

NOTES: Miami remains one of four unbeaten teams in Division I, along with Villanova, Arizona State and TCU. All four teams posted victories on Friday... Hawaii, which fell to 7-2 at home, will meet Davidson in the second losers-bracket game on Saturday. It will be the first contest between the teams. ... Miami improved to 3-0 on the road; the Canes were 4-6 in road games last year.