MIAMI — The Watsco Center was a sea of orange as University of Miami students, back on campus for the start of the Spring semester, showed up in big numbers to see the 17th-ranked Hurricanes take on Syracuse.
They got a thriller.
The Hurricanes rode the broad shoulders of center Norchad Omier, got clutch three-pointers from Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar down the stretch, and rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to win 82-78.
Omier led the late-game charge and finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Pack made five three-pointers, including a pair at the most critical moments, and scored 15 points. Jordan Miller had 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Harlond Beverly scored 16, including a dunk to give Miami a late lead and four free throws in the closing minutes.
The Canes improved to 15-3 overall, 11-0 at home, and 6-2 in the ACC. Syracuse dropped to 12-7 and 5-3 in the conference.
“(Omier) has tremendous energy with such enthusiasm and plays with reckless abandon,” said UM coach Jim Larranaga.
The coach also credited the crowd for energizing the Hurricanes when it looked like they were headed for a loss.
“I thought our students and our fans were fantastic and they kind of willed us to victory,” Larranaga said. “The energy has been building for a couple of years and it just keeps getting better.”
There were plenty of Syracuse faithful in the building, as well, which was evident with the loud roar every time the Orange made a big play. Jesse Edwards, the 6-11 Syracuse center, gave them plenty to cheer about.
Edwards is the leading rebounder in the ACC and he gave the Hurricanes fits around the basket on Monday. He scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting and led the Orange with 11 rebounds. Joseph Girard had 21 points..
Syracuse took an 11-point lead over Miami after a thunderous Edwards dunk with 14:44 to go. Hurricanes big man Omier answered with a dunk of his own, igniting the UM fans and sparking a late-game surge that got the Hurricanes back in the game.
The crowd went wild when a Miller steal led to a three-point play by Omier that closed the UM deficit to three points with eight minutes to go. The teams traded baskets and back-to-back threes by Pack and Poplar got UM to within two. Miami took a 71-70 lead on a Beverly dunk and never trailed again.
Beverly missed all of last season after back surgery, and has become a key player off the bench this season.
“I think his teammates are really cheering for him,” Larranaga said. “Going back to last year, he was 15 or 20 pounds overweight and he was not in good shape. He was normally winning all our races and then he wasn’t. When you’re out for 10 months, you slowly come back. As you’ve seen in the month of January, he’s far more productive.”
One of the points of emphasis for the Hurricanes heading into the game was taking care of the ball. Syracuse is known for forcing opponents into bad shots with its 2-3 zone, and Miami was sloppy in an overtime weekend loss against NC State in which the Canes committed an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers.
They had 11 against Syracuse.
Miami guard Isaiah Wong, coming off a 25-point performance against the Wolfpack, picked up two early fouls five seconds apart against Syracuse and sat down four minutes into the game. Miami led 11-2 at that point. The Orange took advantage of Wong’s absence and went on a 14-7 run to close Miami’s lead to two points.
Wong re-entered the game with 8:38 to go in the first half but couldn’t find his shot and Syracuse took its first lead of the night, 26-24, on a three-pointer by Justin Taylor with 5:29 to go before intermission.
Pack and Omier each picked up a pair of first-half fouls, and they joined Wong on the bench for the final three and a half minutes of the half. Wong got his fourth foul with seven minutes to go in the game and returned to the bench, replaced by Beverly.
Wong went 1-of-8 and had nine points.
The new year had not been kind to the Hurricanes.
They entered 2023 ranked No. 12 in the nation, riding a 9-0 win streak and boasting a 14-1 record. But they had slipped to No. 17 by Monday after losing two of three January games to Georgia Tech and NC State.
The win Monday will boost the Hurricanes’ confidence as they hit the road Saturday for a noon game against Duke (13-5, 4-3 ACC), which fell out of the Top 25 on Monday after a weekend loss to conference leader and 19th-ranked Clemson. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Note: In honor of Martin Luther King Day, UM players wore warmup t-shirts that had King’s name on the front and on the back, his quote: “We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do what’s right.”
