Jim Larranaga sidelined by back spasms, missed Hurricanes’ 88-74 win over Alabama A&M
University of Miami basketball coach Jim Larranaga was forced to miss the Hurricanes’ 88-74 victory over Alabama A&M on Saturday afternoon after suffering back spasms following the morning shootaround.
Larranaga watched the game on T.V. from home, while associate head coach Chris Caputo took charge.
“He was great at the shootaround and then he called me at noon saying, `You may have to do the radio,” and then he called me again at 12:45 and said he couldn’t make it,” Caputo said. “It’s a difficult thing because you get these spasms and what you really need is rest; and it’s hard to rest in the middle of the season. He was on the road at Illinois, came home and went recruiting, and was running around recruiting last weekend.”
Miami was coming off a big road win at Illinois Dec. 2 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and eager to play at home for the first time in 27 days. With final exams out of the way, the Canes had spirited practices in the days leading up to Saturday’s game. Coaches stressed defense, and challenged players to keep the Bulldogs from driving to the basket.
Alabama A&M, which starts four freshmen, presented a bigger challenge than the Hurricanes might have expected. Entering the game, the Bulldogs were 2-5 and their five losses had been by an average of 29 points.
It was a different story on Saturday. With 12 minutes to go, the Hurricanes led by just five, 57-52. But a 10-0 run late in the game, capped by a three-pointer by Kam McGusty, widened the gap to 15 points and the Hurricanes came away with the win.
McGusty led all scorers with 21 points, DJ Vasiljevic had 17 (including five three pointers), Chris Lykes added 13 and Sam Waardenberg 11 with nine rebound.
“We allowed DJ to hit some deep threes, that’s his specialty; he’s one of the best in the nation,” said Bulldogs coach Dylan Howard. “Then, McGusty took over the game, lowered his head, got downhill and we fouled or gave up the straight-line drive. That was definitely the difference the last three minutes.”
The Bulldogs kept things close early and shot 57.7 percent in the first half, but the Hurricanes led 44-35 at the break.
“Credit to them for the confidence they played with,” Caputo said of the Bulldogs. “They played with a real gusto about them. Some of that has to do with us, but give them credit. We were able to outscore them, but didn’t defend them well enough at any point in the game.”
The visitors came out tough after intermission and closed the gap to 51-46 over the next five minutes. A three-point play by UM guard Chris Lykes gave Miami a 10-point cushion, and they hung on for the win.
The Hurricanes are back on the road Sunday. They fly to New York, are going to see the play “Hamilton” Sunday night, and Tuesday night they face Temple in Brooklyn as part of the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational. Larranaga has been playing songs from “Hamilton” at every team meeting to get the players ready.
“It will be great to be in New York, we’ve been trying to educate the guys about Alexander Hamilton, should be a really cool experience for them, which they probably won’t appreciate until they get there,” Caputo said. “We love New York, have a lot of alums there, some of us are from there, so it should be great.”