Freshman Isaiah Wong scores 21, leads UM Hurricanes to 85-58 rout of Boston College
Energized by the return of three key players from the injured list, the University of Miami men’s basketball team opened up a 21-point lead over Boston College in the first half and rolled to a much-needed 85-58 victory.
Freshman Isaiah Wong led the Hurricanes in scoring for the second game in a row with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also had five rebounds and three assists. Wong, a 6-3 native of Piscataway, N.J., is the first UM freshman since Marcus Barnes in 2001 to have back-to-back 20-point games.
Point guard Chris Lykes, healthy again after a groin injury, added 16 points. Kam McGusty, recovering from back spasms, had 12 and Rodney Miller, back from a sprained ankle, chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.
“Winning is a lot more fun than losing, and not only winning, but playing well,” said UM coach Jim Larranaga, who was more animated than he had been in a long time. “That was as good a 40 minutes as we’ve played all season. We rebounded well. It was a great team effort. Our defense was very, very good, we were getting assists, sharing the ball. To score 85 and hold a team to 58 is great.”
It was unusual to see nearly all the Miami players in uniform after Lykes, McGusty, Miller and Keith Stone had all missed games with various injuries. The only UM player sitting out against the Eagles was forward Sam Waardenburg, who took an elbow to the jaw during practice on Tuesday and woke up with a stiff neck.
“At 2 o’clock Tuesday, we were fully healthy for the first time since the Clemson game (Dec. 31), and by 4 o’clock, Sam was out,” said Larranaga.
Heading into Wednesday night, the Hurricanes had lost seven of their past eight games, and were tied for last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 3-10 conference record. Larranaga was confident that the tide could turn with a full complement of players.
His biggest concern before the game was how to integrate everyone back into the rotation, and who to start. Freshmen Wong and Harlond Beverly had stepped up in place of Lykes and McGusty.
He went with Stone in the post and four guards: Lykes, McGusty, D.J. Vasiljevic and Wong, who scored a career-high 23 points in the previous game against eighth-ranked Florida State. Beverly came in off the bench and contributed nine points, seven rebounds and six assists. Miami finished with 17 assists, one of their best efforts of the season.
“All four of their guards can score, get in the lane, drive, all make shots...They were a lot to handle,” said Boston College coach Jim Christian.
The Hurricanes trailed 15-14 early, but a Wong three-pointer sparked a 24-3 run over the next seven minutes and Miami pulled ahead 38-17. That streak included seven points by Beverly and a ferocious dunk by freshman forward Anthony Walker, who finished the night with nine points.
“Isaiah is playing with a lot of confidence, killing the guys in front of him, and I’m happy to see it,” said Lykes. “When we are all healthy, I think we’re 6-1. If we can find a way to get back to that in time for the ACC tournament, we could be a dangerous team.”
Boston College shot 29 percent on the night, and was 1-of-10 from three-point range. Miami shot 55.6 percent and 40 percent (4-of-10) from beyond the arc.
Miami improved to 12-12, 4-10 ACC. The Eagles are 12-13, 6-8 ACC. The Canes are home again Saturday at 2 p.m. against Wake Forest.
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 9:33 PM.