UM squeaks out 68-66 win at FAU on game-winning layup by Isaiah Wong
The University of Miami men’s basketball team survived FAU’s relentless perimeter defense and a raucous Owls crowd to squeak out a 68-66 road victory on Tuesday night.
FAU’s Michael Forrest, a Blanche Ely High grad, made a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game with 16 seconds to go, but Miami guard Isaiah Wong took the ball up the court, made a hard move to the basket and scored the game-winning layup with six seconds remaining.
Forrest led all scorers with 21 points and was 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Wong was UM’s leading scorer with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Kam McGusty was 1-of-8 from the field but finished with 14 points for UM after making 12 of 14 free throws. Freshman Wooga Poplar was 4-of-5 for 12 points.
Freshman Alijah Martin had 17 for the Owls.
“A lot of my friends in coaching think I’m crazy for playing in-state games when it’s the biggest non-conference game for our opponents,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said. “It’s my understanding that that was the largest student crowd ever to attend a Florida Atlantic home game, and that’s terrific for college basketball, to create energy and enthusiasm all over the country.
“We’ve always been willing to do that knowing this is how you prepare your team for the hostile environments we’re going to face during the ACC season.”
Asked what he was thinking in the final seconds of the game, Larranaga said: “I just told everyone, `Get out of his way and Isaiah, just go ahead and score.’ He was either going to score or get fouled. He’s a very hard guy to keep from scoring. I thought Florida Atlantic’s defense was very good and I’m just pleased we were able to squeak out a victory.”
The Hurricanes (2-1) are back home Sunday night against Florida A&M. FAU (1-2) plays UT-Martin at home on Friday.