Cleveland scores career-high 32, freshman Bethea adds 21 as UM beats Syracuse 91-84
Coach Bill Courtney returned to the University of Miami sideline on Tuesday after missing the previous game due to illness, and the Hurricanes welcomed him back with a hard-fought 91-84 win over Syracuse.
It was just their second ACC win of the season, and they remain at the bottom of the conference with seven games remaining, but the team left the Watsco Center floor energized, and its fans finally had reason to chant “It’s great to be a Miami Hurricane!”
The previous four meetings between the Hurricanes and the Orange went down to the wire, with all four decided by four points or less (10 total points). It was a similar storyline on Tuesday, as orange clad fans from both teams remained tense throughout the second half.
Matthew Cleveland continued his standout play with a career-high 32 points on 10-of-13 shooting (77 percent), his sixth game in a row with 20-plus points and third 30-point performance against an ACC opponent this season.
The senior guard scored Miami’s first five points and by the 10-minute mark he had nine points, one rebound, one assist, one block and one steal. He had 15 at halftime, stayed hot after intermission, and was clutch down the stretch.
When the score was tied 61-61, it was Cleveland’s three-pointer that capped an 8-0 run to stretch UM’s lead to five points. Cleveland also scored eight points in the final two minutes to keep Syracuse at bay. He had a team-high five assists and was a relentless defender with three steals and two blocks.
Syracuse coach Adrian Autry was highly critical of his team’s defensive effort, calling it “unacceptable” and said his players made it too easy for Cleveland. UM shot 55.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.
“We just didn’t play defense; we showed up and gave up 90 points,” Autry said. “You can’t play this game on one end of the floor and no interest in the other end. That’s what our team did, and that’s why we lost. [Cleveland’s] been playing well, I just thought it was too easy for him. He got whatever he wanted anytime he wanted.
“We’ve played against some other good players. We made them work a little bit more. I don’t think we made him work at all.”
Cleveland has played the best basketball of his career over the past six weeks. Entering Tuesday’s game, he was averaging 21.4 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block per game since Jan. 1. He was averaging 20.3 points per ACC game, which ranks third among all league players this season.
Asked what clicked in recent weeks, Cleveland said he made it his personal mission to lead the team after coach Jim Larranaga’s unexpected retirement the day after Christmas.
“My main thing was just helping the team, especially after Coach L stepped down, just pulling us together because we still had 19 ACC games to play,” Cleveland said.
Freshman guard Jalil Bethea has also blossomed of late. He had a season-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting against Syracuse with six rebounds and four assists. His previous best was 17 points.
Bethea was a much-hyped five-star recruit coming out of Archbishop Wood in Philadelphia and struggled early as he adjusted to playing defense.
“In high school, I was the tallest player on my team,” said Bethea, who is 6-5. “Everybody had to guard somebody and since I was the star player, I didn’t really have to. But in college, it’s way different. You’ve got to play defense, no matter who you are because once you’re in college, that status doesn’t matter.”
Courtney had a hunch Bethea would have a good game based on his energy at practice on Monday and has been delighted with the freshman’s progress.
“He’s going to throw the ball all over the place at times, and you’ve got to live with that, but he’s doing way more good things than bad things,” Courtney said. “He’s gotten so much better defensively, so you can leave him out there on the floor a little bit more now because he’s not making those key defensive mistakes.
“He’s a wonderful, talented kid, so you keep sticking with him and he delivered. Hopefully, he can build on this.”
The other UM guards also played well. Paul Djobet went 3-of-3 from distance and finished with 13 points. A.J. Staton McCray added 10 points and Divine Ugochukwu contributed nine points, six rebounds and four steals.
The Hurricanes improved to 6-18 overall and 2-11 in the ACC. They are trying desperately to climb out of the ACC basement, as only the top 15 of the 18 teams qualify for the conference tournament. Miami is not yet mathematically eliminated with seven games remaining but needs to put a string of wins together to attempt to leapfrog N.C. State (2-10), Boston College (2-10), and Notre Dame (4-8).
Courtney insisted he and his staff don’t talk about making the ACC tournament, that they are taking things one day at a time. Cleveland conceded that playing in the post-season is in the back of the players’ minds.
Syracuse (11-14, 5-9 ACC) was led by JJ Starling, who scored 25 points, and center Eddie Lampkin, who had 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
The Hurricanes are on the road at Pittsburgh on Saturday at noon and at FSU on Feb. 19 before returning to the Watsco Center for a Feb. 22 game against Virginia Tech.