Lykes, Wong lead UM to 82-60 win over Stetson, both battling ankle injuries

Chris Lykes, the University of Miami Hurricanes’ 5-7 senior guard, was back to his electrifying self in an 82-60 win over Stetson Friday night after struggling to find his shot in the season-opening game last week.

Lykes got off to a hot start, going 4-of-5 for 14 points in the first 12 minutes and finished with a game-high 20 points with five assists and four rebounds. The Hatters had no answer for the lightning-quick guard, who scored from close range, long range, and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. He also played relentless defense before leaving the game with a sprained ankle with 11 minutes to go.

His status for Tuesday’s Big Ten-ACC Challenge game against Purdue is unknown.

“An ankle injury is always serious to me because a player like Chris relies so heavily on speed and quickness and and ankle injury can really slow you down,” said coach Jim Larranaga. “But he got us off to a great start. He was probably upset with himself about not making shots the first game, so he came out very focused offensively and working hard defensively. I love the pressure he’s putting on the ball.”

Lykes had gone 3-for-13 and looked frustrated in the opener against North Florida, Larranaga shrugged it off, saying he was not at all concerned, that Lykes had been lighting it up in practice.

Lykes proved his coach right.

“You know Chris Lykes never goes three-for-whatever he did last game two games in a row, so we all knew he was going to come out hard,” said guard Kam McGusty. “He sets the tone for us on the defensive end. He picks up the ball 94 feet and really pressures it as you can see, they could barely get in their offense. He did a great job for us, back to himself hitting shots and that’s what we expect from him.”

Lykes got plenty of help from his teammates. Miami had a balanced attack with four players in double figures.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Wong, who had sprained an ankle in practice, followed up his 20-point performance in the season-opener with a double-double against Stetson – 17 points, 12 rebounds. McGusty and freshman Matt Cross had 11 points apiece. Cross twisted his ankle in Friday’s game.

The Hurricanes shared the ball well with 18 assists, turned the ball over just 10 times, and played hard-nosed defense almost the entire game. They held one of Stetson’s top players, Rob Perry, to one point and 0-for-8 shooting.

“We won our first game, but defensively it wasn’t to our capability at all, we gave up a lot of transition threes and I think tonight for 38 minutes we played great defense,” said McGusty. “I like the improvement in our defense and improvement in our assists. Last year we struggled with assists, so the fact that we’re moving the ball and playing good defense that is good to see because it’s what our program prides itself on.”

Larranaga went with the same starting lineup as the opening game: Lykes, Wong, McGusty, Cross and transfer Nysier Brooks. Cross, a freshman forward, is proving to be a steady presence on the offensive and defensive ends, showing poise and patience.

“Matt is not going to get a lot of attention on the scouting report, but he is so efficient, a very sound player” Larranaga said.

“Matt, being a freshman, has come a long way from his first day in summer,” McGusty said. “It’s hard for a freshman to come in from Day One and be productive and actually be up to date with how we play offense and defense. And Naz, since he was at Cincinnati, has always been a guy who is a presence down low and talks a lot, gets us all in sync on the court. We are blessed to have them both on our team this year.

The coach also managed to work 7-foot redshirt senior center Rodney Miller and 6-11 redshirt junior center Deng Gak into the rotation. Miller played only five minutes the first game, and Gak didn’t play at all. Larranaga said he was hoping to give the two men more minutes against Stetson, and he kept his word.

“For 38 minutes I thought our defense was very, very good,” said Larranaga. “I was very concerned in the second half after we got ahead by 20, we had a lull for a while, but we came back. It was a good game for us to play, and a good win.”

Stetson is coached by Donnie Jones, the former University of Florida assistant coach under Billy Donovan who went on to be head coach at UCF and Marshall, where he recruited and coached former Heat center Hassan Whiteside.

The Hatters were led by redshirt freshman Chase Johnston, a graduate of Fort Lauderdale’s Westminster Academy, who scored 19 points (five three pointers). He set a prep record for career three-pointers, and that shooting touch showed against UM. Stetson dropped to 0-2.