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No. 6 Miami pulls away in second half to sink Hawaii’s upset bid

Junior guard Sheriff Drammeh scored 17 points, including 12 in the first half, but it was not enough as Hawaii’s upset bid fell short against No. 6 Miami tonight, 75-57 in the Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Senior guard Ja’Quan Newton and sophomore forward Dewan Huell each had 16 points for the Hurricanes (10-0). Senior guard Anthony Lawrence II added 11 points.

Sophomore guard Leland Green had 10 points and junior forward Jack Purchase added nine points with a game-high 12 rebounds for the Rainbow Warriors (7-3). Hawaii, which saw its three-game winning streak snapped, will meet Davidson (4-5) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Miami takes on New Mexico State (10-2) at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The Aggies held on for a 69-68 victory over the Wildcats earlier today.

In today’s other games, Middle Tennessee State edged Princeton, 69-67, and USC ran away from Akron, 84-53.

A layup by senior forward Gibson Johnson gave Hawaii what would be its last lead at 38-37 with 17:43 left in the game. Miami outscored the Rainbow Warriors 11-1 over the next 2:39 to take control at 48-39, a run capped by a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Bruce Brown Jr.

Hawaii finished with eight 3-pointers, including three by Purchase.

Three-point shooting kept Hawaii more than in the game with five treys helping the Warriors to a 33-33 tie at halftime. After Miami used an 8-0 run to take a 10-2 lead, Hawaii answered with four 3-pointers among its six baskets to go ahead at 18-14.

A free throw by Mike Thomas tied it at 19 with 8:26 remaining in the first half. It would be tied four more times, the last when Drammeh hit a jumper with 5 seconds left before intermission.

Also on Saturday, Middle Tennessee State (8-2) meets USC (7-4) at 11:30 a.m., and Princeton (5-7) plays Akron (6-3) at 1:30 p.m.

The tournament concludes Monday, beginning with the seventh-place game at 7:30 a.m. The fifth-place game is at 9:30 a.m., the championship game at 1 p.m. and the third-place game at 3:30 p.m.

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