Norchad Omier posted his fourth double-double of the season to lead five double-digit scorers as No. 15 Miami crushed Long Island 97-49 on Wednesday in Coral Gables, Fla.
Omier led all scorers with 17 points and matched his season high in rebounds with 13, giving him 26 boards in his past two games combined.
Matthew Cleveland with 15 points, Wooga Poplar with 14, Nijel Pack with 13 and freshman Kyshawn George with a collegiate-high 13 also wound up in double figures for the Hurricanes (7-1). The 10 players who were on the court at least 10 minutes all scored for Miami.
Tai Strickland, the son of LIU coach Rod Strickland, and Andre Washington led the Sharks (1-7) with 14 points each. Eric Acker added 13 points, and Tai Strickland grabbed nine rebounds.
The Hurricanes led by 35 points at the half and continued to build on their cushion in the second half while shooting 56.9 percent (37 of 65) from the field on the night. Their biggest margin was 49 points with 8:32 left in the game.
The Sharks started the game 0-for-6 from the field and finished 19-for-62 (30.6 percent) in losing their third straight game to remain winless on the road at 0-6.
The Hurricanes held advantages in several categories in improving to 5-0 at home, including rebounding (45-32), second-chance points (11-4), points in the paint (48-24) and fastbreak points (17-3).
Miami wasted no time getting started, jumping out to a 21-0 lead as the Sharks committed eight turnovers in the first six minutes.
The Hurricanes didn’t let up from there. They were up 45-12 with 5:29 left in the period and went to the locker room with a 53-18 edge. It marked the second time this season they topped the 50-point mark in the first half, the other coming in their opening 101-60 win over NJIT when Miami was up 52-32 at the break.
Miami shot 59.5 percent (22-for-37) for the half while the Sharks were 7-for-26 (26.9 percent).
–Field Level Media
