HONOLULU (AP) — Dewan Huell scored 21 points, Bruce Brown Jr. had a season-high 20 and No. 15 Miami beat Middle Tennessee 84-81 in the Diamond Head Classic on Monday night.
DJ Vasiljevic added 13 points, helping the Hurricanes rebound from their first loss of the season to New Mexico State in Saturday’s semifinals. They finished third in the eight-team tournament.
The 6-foot-11 Huell was 7 for 8 from the field and 7 for 8 at the line. The sophomore forward was named to the all-tournament team.
More Miami Hurricanes news
Miami shot 60 percent (30 of 50) from the field after shooting a season-worst 34 percent in the loss to the Aggies.
Nick King led Middle Tennessee (8-4) with 28 points. Antwain Johnson and Brandon Walters had 12 points apiece.
The Blue Raiders led by as many as 13 in the first half, but the Hurricanes went ahead to stay on a straightaway 3-pointer by Anthony Lawrence II with 3:19 left in the game.
Brown scored 14 points in the second half. He was 8 for 16 from the field for the game and also had six rebounds and three assists.
There were eight ties and nine lead changes in the first meeting between the teams.
BIG PICTURE
Middle Tennessee: It was the sixth time this season that the Blue Raiders faced an opponent that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. It posted wins over Florida Gulf Coast (twice), Vanderbilt and Princeton, but lost to Southern California.
Miami: The Hurricanes entered with the second-best mark nationally in both scoring defense (57 points per game) and opponent field-goal percentage (35.3 percent), as well as the third-best mark in opponent 3-point shooting (26.6 percent). The Blue Raiders shot 51.9 percent from the field and 46.7 from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
Middle Tennessee: Takes on UAB on Saturday before beginning Conference USA play at FIU on Jan. 4.
Miami: Visits Pittsburgh on Saturday.
The post Miami rallies past Middle Tennessee, finishes third at Diamond Head Classic appeared first on News Wire Now.
