Donnavan Kirk collected 18 points and 10 rebounds and Rion Brown added 15 points and seven boards for Miami (1-1), which has gone to overtime in each of its first two games. Garrius Adams contributed 11 points and five steals for the Hurricanes.
Miami-area native Jelani Hewitt scored a game-high 27 points to go with five assists for Georgia Southern (1-1), but his 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the front of the rim to allow Miami to escape. Tre Bussey added 20 points and Brian Holmes scored 17 for the Eagles.
The Hurricanes led 35-32 at the break despite shooting 29.6 percent in the first half, including 3-for-11 from 3-point range. Georgia Southern led by as many as nine but allowed Miami to reel off a 16-4 run to end the half.
Miami pushed the lead out to double digits as James Kelly's jumper made it 57-47 with 8:52 left, but Hewitt scored eight points and assisted on Kyle Doyle's 3-pointer during a 13-0 run that gave the Eagles a 65-60 advantage. The Hurricanes clawed back and had a chance to win it in regulation, but Lecomte's floater in the lane and Brown's tip both glanced off the rim in the final seconds.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Miami was 6-for-21 from 3-point range and is shooting 16.7 percent from behind the arc in its first two contests. … Georgia Southern was 16-for-16 from the foul line, with Hewitt hitting all eight of his attempts. … Miami held a 36-32 edge on the boards.
Georgia Southern | Miami-Florida | |
Jelani Hewitt 27 | Scoring | Donnavan Kirk 18 |
Jelani Hewitt 5 | Assists | Rion Brown 4 |
Marvin Baynham 6 | Rebounds | Donnavan Kirk 10 |
Jelani Hewitt 8 | Free Throws Made | Garrius Adams 7 |
Jelani Hewitt 1 | Steals | Garrius Adams 5 |
Kameron Dunnican 1 | Blocks | Donnavan Kirk 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Georgia Southern | 80 | 47.4 | 10-26 | 16-16 | 8 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
Miami-Florida | 81 | 39.1 | 6-21 | 25-29 | 12 | 32 | 5 | 8 | 7 |