Newton scores 20, No. 15 Miami rolls past Charleston 85-63
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) Rick Barry's son had a great game. Rick Barry's alma mater was even better.
Ja'Quan Newton scored a career-high 20 points off the bench, Sheldon McClellan added 14 and No. 15 Miami showed no signs of rust from its 11-day break for exams in beating College of Charleston 85-63 on Saturday.
Anthony Lawrence scored 11 and Tonye Jekiri added 10 for the Hurricanes (9-1), who led 43-40 early in the second half before blowing the game open. It was also the 100th win at Miami for coach Jim Larranaga, coming in his 150th game with the Hurricanes.
''I told the team after the game, that was a terrific defensive effort ... just a terrific defensive effort,'' Larranaga said. ''It led to fast-break layups, baskets, sharing the ball. We had a few too many turnovers, almost getting into each other's way. But our defense was so good for such a long period of time.''
Canyon Barry, the son of former Miami great and Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry, scored 20 points for Charleston (7-3) and did so with his dad watching from the stands. Jerrell Brantley scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Marquise Pointer scored 11 for the Cougars, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.
If playing in an arena where his dad's jersey sways from the rafters was imposing, Canyon Berry didn't let it show.
''He's a better student than he's a basketball player, and he's a great basketball player,'' Charleston coach Earl Grant said. ''Pretty well-rounded. Basketball ain't the only thing he's got going. Pretty good guitarist. He can do a lot of things. I don't think the name is a burden. I don't think it puts pressure on him.''
Canyon Barry was scoreless in 35 minutes against Miami last year. He made 8 of 20 shots on Saturday.
''Terrific player,'' Larranaga said. ''Terrific offensive player in terms of he can shoot, he can handle, he's terrific in the open court. That's a team that could win their conference and be in the NCAA Tournament because they're so well balanced.''
Miami came into the game among the nation's leaders in field-goal and 3-point percentage, and got right back into rhythm even after the long layoff. The Hurricanes shot 56 percent, topping the 50-percent mark for the seventh time in 10 games this season.
And when the Hurricanes started rolling, the outcome wasn't in doubt.
Canyon Barry made a jumper 5 minutes into the second half to get the Cougars within three. Miami answered with 10-0 run that pushed the lead back into double-digits, and it stayed there the rest of the way.
''It shows we can play with any team in the country for an extended period of time,'' Canyon Barry said.
TIP-INS
Charleston: The Cougars have now lost their last five games against ranked opponents, and are 0-4 all-time against Miami - with three of those losses in each of the last three seasons. ... Charleston is in a stretch where it plays just one home game in a span of a month. Saturday's game started a run where the Cougars will play five of their next six games on the road.
Miami: The Hurricanes' only loss this season was against a team from Charleston's conference; Northeastern, which is expected to be among the challengers in the Colonial this season, won in Coral Gables on Nov. 27. ... Miami is technically playing a road game at La Salle on Tuesday, though the matchup will take place at Philadelphia's historic Palestra - where Larranaga once played. ''Played really well, too,'' Larranaga said, grinning.
100 W'S FOR L
Larranaga - ''Coach L,'' as many call him - now has 100 wins at three different schools. It took him 199 games to get there at Bowling Green, 173 at George Mason and 150 at Miami, which is nine faster than anyone else in Hurricane history.
UP NEXT
Charleston: At Campbell on Tuesday.
Miami: At La Salle on Tuesday.
