Miami tops Oral Roberts 69-56 in Las Vegas Classic

The Miami Hurricanes beat the Oral Robert Golden Eagles 69-56 Tuesday in the Las Vegas Classic.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:06 pm

By: News On 6


Originally Published: Dec 21, 2010 11:31 PM CDT

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Malcolm Grant scored 15 points to lead Miami to a 69-56 victory over Oral Roberts on Tuesday at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.

Miami started the second half with an 11-2 run that erased a 33-28 halftime deficit and provided a 39-35 lead with 15:44 left.

After two free throws by Grant gave Miami a 37-35 advantage, the Golden Eagles (4-7) never reclaimed the lead.

The Hurricanes (8-3) also got 14 points and 12 rebounds from Reggie Johnson in his sixth double-double of the season, plus 14 points from Durand Scott and 10 from Garrius Adams. Miami made 52.4 percent (22 of 42) of its shots.

"Reggie Johnson played a big role for us," Haith said. "The plan was to get the ball both to Reggie inside and to our guards to drive in."

Grant went 9-for-9 at the free-throw line and has made 33 of his last 34 attempts. Johnson scored four of the Hurricanes' first five points of the second half and got the game-turning run started.

"We actually upped the intensity in the second half," Miami coach Frank Haith said. "I was proud of our defensive pressure, and DeQuan Jones kind of gave us a lift."

Jones was credited with two blocks, prompting Haith to point out, "That's the kind of identity DeQuan has to bring to our team."

Dominique Morrison led the Golden Eagles with 20 points, while Damen Bell-Holter had 16 points and nine rebounds.

"I'm happy with the way we defended Morrison," Haith said. "He could play for anybody in the country."

The Golden Eagles got within three points when they trailed 56-53 after Morrison made two free throws with 3:44 left. But the Hurricanes reeled off a 9-2 run for a 65-55 advantage. Scott and Adams each had 3-pointers during that run.

"Our offensive execution late in the game was really good," Haith said. "We made a couple big 3-pointers."

In the first half, Oral Roberts trailed 28-27 after Miami's Adrian Thomas made a 3-pointer with 1:32 left. But the Golden Eagles went on a 6-0 run to end the half with the lead.

Morrison and Bell-Holter each made two free throws and Warren Niles surged for a layup at the buzzer to account for the six points during their go-ahead run.
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