Freshman Beverly overcomes early mistake, leads UM Hurricanes to 66-58 win over Pitt
The year 2020 had not been kind to the University of Miami men’s basketball team with back-to-back double-digit losses to No. 2 Duke and No. 13 Louisville, but the Hurricanes finally got to celebrate Sunday night.
Miami raced to a 16-0 lead over Pittsburgh, overcame a second-half cold spell, never trailed, made critical plays down the stretch and came away with a 66-58 victory.
Pitt, which trailed by 20 early in the second half, cut the deficit to four points before Miami freshman point guard Harlond Beverly became the unlikely hero for the Hurricanes (10-5, 2-3 ACC).
Beverly came into the game when starter Chris Lykes fouled out with eight minutes to go. Beverly had been yanked by an angry UM coach Jim Larranaga earlier because he failed to run the assigned play and turned the ball over.
Beverly redeemed himself — and then some. Over the span of seven minutes, the athletic 6-4 Detroit native had four assists, a block, two layups, a steal that led to a fast-break dunk and a defensive rebound.
“Coach was already mad, and I couldn’t play any worse,” Beverly said sheepishly in the postgame news conference. “After the game, he said, `Harlond, I wasn’t happy with you’. I said, `I know. I messed up’. He told me I did a good job redeeming myself because the ball was in my hand. He still trusted me after he was mad, so that gives me confidence.”
Larranaga called Beverly the difference-maker.
“I really want to pay a major compliment to Harlond Beverly,” Larranaga said. “When Chris Lykes went out, we went to Harlond and his last 7-8 minutes of the game was the difference. He scored, he assisted, he defended and got a rebound. I really like that Isaiah Wong and Beverly are starting to take some very positive strides.”
Larranaga admitted he was “so mad” at Beverly during the first half.
“We called a play, he didn’t run it, turns it over instead,” Larranaga said. “So, if Lykes hadn’t gotten in foul trouble, there’s a very good chance he doesn’t get back into the game. Chris fouls out and now the responsibility of running our team is on him, a freshman, who I’m already very mad at. He goes out there and plays like a veteran. Makes some very nice baskets, nice assists, blocked a shot, got a rebound.”
Kam McGusty led UM with 19 points — 15 in the first half. DJ Vasiljevic had 13, Lykes 12. Sam Waardenberg grabbed 10 rebounds with his seven points, and Rodney Miller had seven rebounds and seven points, including a critical basket in traffic in the closing minutes.
“Miami’s record is misleading,” said Pitt coach Jeff Capel, pointing out that UM’s three conference losses were to Louisville (twice) and Duke. “They played with the necessary energy worthy of winning, and got off to great start both halves.”
McGusty opened the game with a three-pointer and carried the Canes until halftime. The Panthers (11-5, 2-3) missed their first seven shots and were held scoreless for the first seven minutes before going on an 18-2 run to tie the score 18-18.
That’s when Lykes stepped up with a pair of baskets to give the Canes a bit of a cushion. UM led 31-22 at halftime and went up 46-26 early in the second half. The Canes then went on a brutal three-minute scoreless stretch with four turnovers, and Pitt cut the gap to 51-47.
“It was a fun game to play, real up and down,” McGusty said. “We stayed poised and calm. The last seven or eight minutes we made smart shots and played good defense.”
UM plays at N.C. State on Wednesday and is home Saturday at 1 p.m. against Florida State.
