Miami secured a 99-72 win over Elon on Thursday at the Watsco Center, improving its season record to 4-1. The Hurricanes featured five players scoring in double digits, with Tru Washington achieving his third career double-double, recording 18 points and 10 rebounds. Malik Reneau contributed 19 points, Tre Donaldson added 17, while Shelton Henderson and Dante Allen set season highs with 16 and 14 points respectively.
The team led by seven at halftime after a strong performance from Henderson and Washington, who combined for 25 first-half points. Miami broke open the game late in the first half with a nine-point run that extended their lead into double figures. In the second half, the Hurricanes started with a decisive 13-3 run and maintained control despite Elon briefly narrowing the gap.
Miami finished with a season-best nine three-pointers and shot over 54 percent from the field. The Hurricanes also dominated rebounding (38-22) and forced Elon into a season-high 18 turnovers.
After the game, Head Coach Jai Lucas said: “It’s always good to come out with a win. You can’t take those for granted. It’s that time of the year where you look at some of these teams in these games, they get in these games, and it’s that dog fight part of the year, right before Thanksgiving, because everybody’s kind of looking around the corner. I thought we had some residuals from the Florida game that still lingered, and we had Ernest out. That changed everything so we’re starting differently. It was a different game for us, and we did a good job in the second half adjusting on the fly. The first half was shaky, but the guys did a good job of just staying consistent. We found a way to get over the hump in the second half to get us a little bit of a cushion. I thought that was the difference in the game. I thought our size and our physicality were warmer at the end, and that was part of the reason why we pressed a little bit to try to speed the game up, to get them out of rhythm. They are a rhythm team. We had to find a way to do that, and find a way to take away the threes, and in the second half we were able to do that.”
On defensive adjustments after halftime Lucas said: “I was concerned about the three-point shot, especially with all five people being able to shoot. We started the game switching everything… But then when you get out there…the team moves a little bit faster…and part of it was a new adjustment…they got some just off of us over helping…Then we kind of adjusted…and just kept matchups as much as possible…because their paint touches…led to their threes.”
Freshman forward Shelton Henderson addressed moving past Miami’s recent loss: “I think we had to forget about it quick. It was our first loss of the season so we had to bounce back. We knew we had to come out swinging so that’s what we did tonight and it showed up.” He also highlighted teamwork as an area for continued focus: “I would keep building on playing as a team. We get a lot of assists together so I’m going to keep playing off these guys…”
Junior guard Tru Washington noted improved free throw shooting after practice sessions following their previous defeat: “The Gator game we missed a lot of free throws but at practice we were working on free throws and it showed today.” He credited his coaches’ support for his offensive contributions: “Just my coaching staff for believing in me…they want me to be best I can be at all times…They kept telling me to keep going…”
Miami will next face Delaware State at home on Sunday at 1 p.m., with coverage available via ACC Network Extra.
Season tickets remain available through www.miamihurricanes.com/tickets.
