Well. I don’t really know where to begin with this one. I think the score line pretty much speaks for itself and if you actually managed to sit through this one I think we are all in agreement that there were not many positives in this outing for the Eagles.
While the Eagles came out of the gate shooting efficiently, and building a small five point lead, the Hurricanes continued to battle with a relentless fervor that essentially clinched a win for Miami in the first half. After climbing out of the small five point deficit, the Hurricanes continued to pound away at the Eagles and end up going on a 24-2 run. Yes, you read that right. BC’s shooting was no short of abysmal as they would finish the first half shooting just 10/34 from the field. Not to mention BC’s guards, Jay Heath and Derryk Thornton were effectively non-existent the entire first half. Thornton literally did not have a single point to his name until around the 10 minute mark of the second half. Nic Popovic and Steffon Mitchell were the only two on the floor in the first half showing some grit and actually trying to scrap something together and close the margin on Miami. Also, Jairius Hamilton was essentially a ghost the entire game. He played more than half of the contest and I am pretty sure I only heard his name called when he was at the free throw line. Even then, he looked like he was playing with a lot of lethargy throughout the game (but who’s to blame him given how horrendous this game was).
On the other side of the ball, Miami’s freshman were absolute studs. Isiah Wong, Anthony Walker and Harlond Beverly put up a ridiculous offensive stat line for the freshman triumvirate as they collectively went 14/20 from the field for 39 combined points. Wong ended up leading all scorers with 21 points. These three were on a tear the whole game and BC’s defense looked extremely defeated early-on simply did not have an answer going into the second half.
The second half saw more of the same from the first. BC came out with a tad bit more ferocity and started to get the lid off the basket. Heath and Thornton started to show some signs of life as they were able to bring the Hurricanes to a 12 point margin and keep the game in somewhat of a striking distance. Alas, that small sign of hope ended up dwindling fast and a combination of poor shot selection, accruing turnovers, and paper-thin defense let Miami regain momentum and carry this game to the finish line with BC simply hanging their heads in one of their worst performances of the season.
If I have to pick a silver-lining in this train wreck, I would have to say that Kamari Williams had an excellent showing in the place of Jared Hamilton who was out with the flu. The Freshman appeared to be the only one for the Eagles having any luck from behind the arc, as well as showing some physicality in getting to the rim. He ended up leading the Eagles in points with 14. I will say that he did have one wide-open missed baseline layup that left me speechless. Then again, I am trying my best to forget this game entirely so I suppose I can chalk this missed layup as a rookie mistake.
Despite how hard it may be, the Eagles will try to look past this one as they welcome to Conte the NC State Wolfpack this Sunday for a 6:00 PM tip-off.