Miami (Fla.) 71, Loyola (Md.) 48
Miami (Fla.) ended the early, non-conference portion of its schedule with a 71-48 victory over Loyola (Md.) on Monday in Coral Gables, Fla.
The Hurricanes (8-5) received a balanced scoring effort, led by senior guard Rion Brown's 17 points.
Miami, 0-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after a 61-60 overtime loss to Virginia Tech on Dec. 8, resumes its conference schedule with a game at No. 2 Syracuse on Saturday.
Loyola (5-6) begins its Patriot Conference season Thursday at Navy.
Miami never trailed after taking an 11-1 lead with 16:54 left in the first half. Loyola cut the lead to 14-11 on a layup by junior guard Denzel Brito with 13:12 left in the half, but Miami answered with a 10-0 run to put the game away.
The Hurricanes' other double-digit scorers were senior forward Donnavan Kirk (12 points), junior forward James Kelly (11) and sophomore center Tonye Jekiri (10).
Loyola was led by sophomore guard Eric Laster's 13 points. Senior guard Dylon Cormier added 11 points, and sophomore guard Tyler Hubbard scored 10.
Miami outrebounded Loyola 38-27, with Kirk grabbing a game-high nine rebounds.
The Hurricanes' defense also limited the Greyhounds to 34 percent shooting from the field. Loyola made only 18 of its 53 field-goal attempts, six of 14 free throws.
Miami shot 54.2 percent (26 of 48) and recorded a season-high 17 assists, including seven by freshman guard Davon Reed.
