Sharpshooting UM cruises to 96-58 win over Stephen F. Austin

Memo to the University of Miami student body: the basketball season is underway, and the sharpshooting Hurricanes improved to 2-0 on Tuesday night with a 96-58 victory over Stephen F. Austin.

The student section was nearly empty for the game, which UM dominated from start to finish. Seniors Ebuka Izundu and Anthony Lawrence and sophomore Chris Lykes all hit double figures before halftime, as the Canes took a 53-32 lead into the locker room.

Miami opened the second half on a 13-2 run, and the Lumberjacks never got close.

UM’s 6-10 center Izundu ruled the paint and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds to go with 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting. He had 11 offensive rebounds, just three fewer than the entire Stephen F. Austin team. Lykes, the smallest man on the court at 5-7, finished with 20 points and six assists. Lawrence had 18 points, DJ Vasiljevic 17 and grad transfer Zach Johnson added 15.

Miami players knew better than to overlook the Lumberjacks, who made the NCAA Tournament last year and were picked to repeat as the Southland Conference champion. A trio of threes by Vasiljevic gave UM a 30-12 lead and the Canes never trailed. They shot 54 percent on the night.

For the second game in a row the Hurricanes were without junior forward Dewan Hernandez (formerly Huell), the top returning scorer from last year’s team. Hernandez is being withheld from competition indefinitely as the school and NCAA review his eligibility. Sam Waardenburg started in his place.

The Canes are home again Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.) against Bethune-Cookman.

This story was originally published November 13, 2018 at 9:13 PM.