No. 18 Miami falls at home to Eastern Kentucky
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Coral Gables, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Corey Walden scored 18 points and Eastern Kentucky's tough defense stifled No. 18 Miami in a 72-44 upset of the Hurricanes at BankUnited Center.
The Colonels (6-4) held Miami to 29.3 percent shooting from the field and scored 20 points off 14 Hurricanes turnovers.
Timmy Knipp nailed five 3-pointers on his way to a 17-point game and Isaac McGlone shot 4-of-4 from long range for 12 points off the bench. Eastern Kentucky shot 53.8 percent from 3-point range.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The Hurricanes (9-2) lost for the second time in their last three games after falling to Green Bay on Dec. 6 at home. They were outrebounded by a 37-26 margin.
Sheldon McClellan paced Miami with 14 points as its only player to reach double-digit points. Angel Rodriguez went 0-for-6 in a one-point performance.
The Hurricanes suffered through a scoring drought to start both halves. After Manu Lecomte's jumper less than a minute after the break cut the Colonels' edge to two, that lead would balloon to as much as 22 before Davon Reed's triple at the 8:33 mark gave Miami its second field goal of the half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Miami would go on to make just six shots from the field in the second half, four of which were from long distance. The Hurricanes were dominated 24-6 in points in the paint, and they attempted just 14 2-point shots in the game compared to 27 from distance.
The Colonels closed the game on a 12-3 run to account for the final margin.
Miami did not get on the board until Joe Thomas' layup over four minutes into the game, and it took until the under-12 timeout to hit its second shot from the floor.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
McClellan hit a layup to cut the Colonels lead to 14-13, but Eastern Kentucky responded with a 7-0 run to re-solidify its advantage.
Late in the first half, the Hurricanes went on an 8-0 run to even the score for the first time. DeAndre Burnett and Lecomte each hit a 3-pointer in the spurt, but on the next possession, Eric Stutz's layup gave the Colonels the 27-25 lead they would hold at the half.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The all-time series between these teams is now 2-2 ... Eastern Kentucky has won 35 out of its last 36 holding an opponent under 70 points ... The Colonels have outscored opponents 244-108 off turnovers ... Miami was 12-of-18 from the line while Eastern Kentucky was just 2-of-4 ... The Hurricanes will take on Providence in Brooklyn on Dec. 22, and the Colonels will continue a trip through Florida with a game at Florida Atlantic on Monday.