Miami Scores First 100 To Win
The Miami Hurricanes are scoring and winning like never before in the Big East Conference.
Johnny Hemsley had 26 points and 15th-ranked Miami scored 100 points for the first time in a Big East game, beating Villanova 103-82 Tuesday.
Tim James added 22 points for the Hurricanes (18-5 overall, 12-3 Big East), who set a school record with their 12th league victory. Miami shot a season-best 61 percent to win its fifth game in a row.
"What I like about this team is we still haven't peaked," coach Leonard Hamilton said. "There's a lot of room for improvement and room to keep going."
John Celestand scored 25 points and Howard Brown 19 for Villanova (18-8, 9-7).
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Hemsley hit six of 10 3-point shots and reached double figures for the 18th consecutive game. Mario Bland had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"We were clicking," Bland said. "Everybody was tied together on a string."
Miami rallied from an early nine-point deficit.
"That's just the maturity level of this team," Bland said. "Just because you go down doesn't mean you're out for the count."
Michael Simmons' basket with 36 seconds left gave the Hurricanes 100 points. They last reached the milestone in a 101-97 double-overtime victory over Florida State in January 1990.
Miami's previous high in the Big East came in a 96-91 double-overtime victory over St. John's in February 1996. The Hurricanes joined the league in 1991.
Their best record previously in the Big East was 11-7 last season. Second-place Miami has three league games remaining, including a showdown Saturday at league leader Connecticut.
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| Kevin Houston celebrates a 3-point shot he sank in the first half. (AP) |
The Hurricanes are the healthiest they've been since early in the season, and their five starters averaged just 27 minutes against Villanova. Simmons and Kevin Houston scored 10 points apiece off the bench.
"This is the deepest we've been in eight to nine weeks," Hamilton said. "I'm very pleased with this game going into Connecticut. We're going to need our bench, our starters and some prayers."
Celestand scored 10 points to help Villanova take an early 24-15 lead, but even then Wildcats coach Steve Lappas was concerned.
"We didn't want to play at that pace," he said. "We got a nine-point lead, but it was false security. We scored a lot early in the game, and I think that set a bad tone for us."
The Hurricanes forced six turnovers during a 12-0 spurt to go ahead 27-24. An 11-0 run, including six by James, put Miami in front to stay, 45-35.
The Hurricanes sank nine of their first 10 shots in the second half to build the lead to 70-49. They shot 65 percent in the second half.
"We just got out-hustled," Celestand said, "and there's no excuse for that."
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