Hurricanes' season flickers away
Miami pushed Texas to the limit, but the Canes' surprising season finally ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Posted on Mon, Mar. 24, 2008
By MANNY NAVARRO
DANNY JOHNSTON / AP
Texas guard Justin Mason (24) reacts to the buzzer next to Miami center Anthony King (50) at the end of their NCAA men's basketball second-round South Regional game, Sunday, March 23, 2008, in North Little Rock, Ark. Texas won 75-72.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. --
University of Miami coach Frank Haith calls the play ''Home Run'' because, in essence, it's like swinging for the fences. In the Canes' final hour Sunday, Ray Hicks swung for a home run -- unleashing a 60-foot inbounds pass downcourt, a prayer Miami hoped would be answered.
But it never connected with its intended target, UM center Anthony King, who was supposed to tip it to one of Miami's three-point shooters.
Instead, Texas' Damion James batted the ball away with 1.8 seconds left, preserving the Longhorns' 75-72 victory and ending the Canes' surprising and spectacular season at Alltel Arena in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
''I kind of felt like something special was going to happen,'' said Hicks, referring to his pass and UM's near miraculous comeback from a 17-point, second-half deficit. ``I was hoping it was going to be something special . . . but the ball bounced the other way.''
Miami (23-11) got plenty of good bounces this season. Jack McClinton provided most of them with his heroics. And he nearly did it again Sunday -- providing a personal 10-2 run to help Miami rally from a 66-50 deficit with 4:15 remining and get within striking distance.
But the second-seeded Longhorns, who will face third-seeded Stanford in the Sweet 16 this week at the South Regional in Houston, made just enough free throws late and enough three-pointers early (nine in the first half) to hold on for the victory.
Junior A.J. Abrams led the way for the Longhorns (30-6) with 26 points. James had 16 points and 16 rebounds to help Texas, which edged UM 41-30 on the glass.
Justin Mason, meanwhile, provided the defense on McClinton, who struggled and finished 5 of 14 from the field after scoring a career-high 38 points in UM's first-round victory Friday over Saint Mary's. McClinton finished with 18 points.
''Let's give Miami a lot of credit for a lot of heart, a lot of grit, a lot of determination,'' said Texas coach Rick Barnes, who consoled Haith, his former assistant at Texas, with a friendly hug and handshake when the game was over.
``The way they fought, I knew that would happen because you all know my relationship with Frank and I know what he's all about -- and his team.''
Said Haith: ``Our kids never stopped playing and you got to give them credit for how hard they competed.''
Texas built an early first-half lead behind a three-point barrage that was so good that less than nine minutes in, five Texas players had made three-pointers. Abrams made six in all, five in the first half, as the Longhorns went into the break with a 43-32 lead.
''They were just hitting [jumpers] -- simple as that,'' UM forward Jimmy Graham said. ``It's tough when teams are hitting everything they throw up.''
The Longhorns made 13 three-pointers in all, two shy of the most allowed by the Canes this season (Duke rang up 15 threes in its win over Miami on Feb. 2).
But Miami didn't fold. UM closed the game on a 22-8 run, a finish that featured Hicks connecting on his third three-pointer of the season with 11.9 seconds left to cut Texas' lead to 72-69, and his fourth three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to trim Texas' lead to 74-72.
After D.J. Augustin shot an airball on his first free-throw attempt, he made his second attempt, setting up one last heave for UM, which was out of timeouts. ''He's supposed to catch it and throw it to one of the guards that is crossing underneath and try to get an open three,'' said Haith, who told reporters he preferred the prospect of a three-pointer from 20 feet instead of a 70-foot shot from the other side of the court. ``They tipped it away.''
It marks the end of an otherwise terrific season for the Canes.
UM was picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the preseason, but opened the season 12-0, found itself ranked in the nation's Top 25 for three weeks and rallied from a 2-6 start in the ACC to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years.
''I'm sad we lost that way, [ticked] off we lost that way,'' said King, who sat with a towel draped around his neck and his head down.
``I'm proud of my teammates. They're a special bunch and we've done something this program hadn't done in six years. I'm very happy for my teammates to get to this point. I'm happy for myself that I was able to taste the NCAA before I left. But I'm disappointed we lost.''
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