No pizza or hot dogs, but fourth win in a row as UM men beat Fordham 72-66 in Brooklyn
Miami Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga and his top assistant, Chris Caputo, are native New Yorkers and wanted their players to get a feel for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn because that is where the 2022 ACC Tournament will be held.
They also wanted to prepare for tough conference games by facing a team that shoots a lot of three-pointers and stretches the defense.
Mission accomplished. The Canes rallied in the second half and knocked off Fordham 72-66. It was Miami’s fourth win in a row and the team improved to 8-3 heading into a one-week break for final exams.
Point guard Charlie Moore led UM with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals in 38 minutes. Isaiah Wong added 17 points and seven rebounds. Kam McGusty had 15 points, Anthony Walker eight points, and Jordan Miller chipped in eight points and nine rebounds.
Miami, which trailed by two at halftime, held Fordham to 21 percent shooting from three-point range (8-of-38) and to 29 points in the second half.
“They took 38 threes, and we did a reasonably good job of defending them,” said Larranaga, who rushed through the press conference because he had family to visit with before the flight home. “We made some real key shots and free throws and that’s what it’s all about.”
Larranaga was pleased with the balance in scoring and the fact that the Hurricanes won the rebounding battle 41-32 and outscored the Rams 34-26 in the paint, both areas his somewhat undersized team has been trying to improve.
Moore was the catalyst all game long.
“I couldn’t take him out,” Larranaga said. “He was really running the team very well. Playing 38 minutes…If he gets 18 points and seven rebounds, that’s a great night for him. He was named Player of the Game. Everyone knows we’ve got three exceptional guards, Charlie, Isaiah Wong and Kam McGusty and it was Charlie’s turn to step up and play huge.”
Miami was favored by 10 but took a while to get going. Fordham took an early lead, UM missed eight of nine shots during a three-minute scoring drought, and the Rams took a two-point halftime edge with a three-pointer by Antonio Daye at the buzzer.
It was a completely different story after intermission. The Hurricanes clamped down on defense, found open shots, and went on a 16-2 run to open a comfortable 14-point lead with eight minutes to go.
Fordham got to within five points with under two minutes to go, Larranaga called a time out and called a backdoor play for McGusty that worked to perfection. The veteran guard made the shot, got fouled for a three-point play and the Canes never looked back. McGusty, Miller and Moore made six consecutive free throws to seal the win.
“The reason we scheduled this game was we wanted to play in the Barclays Center and get our guys a little accustomed to the New York environment,” Larranaga said. “We landed at Newark and bused them over and it almost took as long to get from the airport to our hotel as it took to get from Miami to Newark. We have to adjust our schedule for the New York atmosphere.”
Although he would love to have spent a few days with friends and family in New York City, the coach was headed straight back to Miami after the game.
“I’m sure a lot of the guys would love to be going into Manhattan to get a slice of pizza or a dirty water hot dog or hang out in Times Square, but we’ll be back in Miami by 6 tonight,” he said.
Miami’s next game is at home Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. against Stetson.