Lawrence scores career-high 27 on Senior Night, leads UM to 76-63 win over Pitt
Anthony Lawrence saved the best game of his career for his home finale. The University of Miami senior guard scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Hurricanes to a 76-63 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers on Senior Night.
It was a much-needed win after being blown out by 30 points at Duke last Saturday.
Lawrence shot 10-of-16 and grabbed 11 rebounds in 39 minutes on Tuesday night. The 27 points pushed him into the 1,000-point club with 1,008 career points.
“I just wanted to go out with a win,” Lawrence said. “We had some ups and downs this season, so I just wanted to leave my senior year at the Wat with a victory.”
Almost every time the Panthers got close in the second half, Lawrence answered with a three-point shot or a free throw.
“Anthony was just spectacular, did everything well,” said UM coach Jim Larranaga. “Just an all-around great game. He’s always been very capable physically. The challenge was that he was required to play so many positions.”
Lawrence was accompanied Tuesday by his mother, Zelia and father, Anthony Sr., who played at Miami from 1991-93 and went on to play overseas. Lawrence’s uncle, Patrick, also played at UM from 1991-94.
It is a safe bet to assume nobody at the Watsco Center Tuesday traveled farther than Ifeoma Izundu. She flew 5,627 miles from Lagos, Nigeria, to see her son, Ebuka, play his last game on the UM campus. She had never seen him play in person.
Seniors Izundu, Lawrence, Zach Johnson and manager/stats analyst Eric Rubenstein were honored before the game. All three seniors played well in their last home game, before a much friendlier crowd than they encountered at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
“The seniors were really, really focused,” Larranaga said.
Izundu, the Canes’ 6-10 center, dominated the boards with a game-high 14 rebounds to go with his 14 points. Izundu moved to the United States on his own at age 17 to pursue his basketball career, and he hadn’t seen his mother in 18 months. The reunion was especially emotional because his father died last summer and never got a chance to see him play.
“It was new to her, the first time being here, and she will probably have some questions after,” Izundu said. “It was exciting for me and I was a little nervous in the first half. I settled down in the second half. I wanted to leave on a good note.”
Redshirt senior Johnson, who joined the team this season after a successful career at Florida Gulf Coast, is a Miami native and had several family members in the stands. He had 12 points and four assists.
And junior guard DJ Vasiljevic also hit double digits with 13 points. Vasiljevic tweaked his back on Monday, and was questionable for the game. Anthony Mack started, but Vasiljevic came in and shook off the injury.
Unlike the Duke game, in which the Hurricanes allowed the Blue Devils to score 58 points in the paint, Miami outscored Pitt 36-20 in the paint on Tuesday. The Canes also held the edge in points off turnovers – 20-13 – and made 78 percent of their free throws.
The Hurricanes led for 36 minutes, and had the game safely in hand in the final minutes.
Miami improved to 13-16 overall and 5-12 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pitt dropped to 12-18, 2-15 in the ACC. The Canes conclude the regular season on the road at No. 15 Virginia Tech on Friday night at 7 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPN2.
UM Women Honored: Earlier in the day, Emese Hof and Beatrice Mompremier of the 16th-ranked UM women’s team were named First Team All-ACC selections by the media panel and coaches. Miami and 4th-ranked Notre Dame were the only schools with two players on the 10-member first team.
Hof, a senior, also was one of five players voted to the ACC All-Defensive Team by the league’s coaches.
“I am so thrilled for both Emese and Beatrice,” said UM coach Katie Meier. “They have been a dominant duo in the ACC and it’s just wonderful that people who really matter have noticed their hard work. They both, ultimately, are team players and have been tremendous leaders. I love that they both have been recognized because their chemistry and unselfishness have really carried our team.”
Mompremier is averaging 16.5 points and 12 rebounds and leads the conference with 23 double-doubles. Hof averages 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
The Hurricanes (24-7, 12-4 ACC) play in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals Friday at 11 a.m. in Greensboro, N.C.
This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 10:11 PM.