Rodriguez Leads Miami Past Drexel 66-46
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (CBSMiami/AP) — The Miami Hurricanes basketball team has gotten its season off to a great start.
Angel Rodriguez scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half and Miami followed up its big win over No. 8 Florida with an easy 66-46 victory over Drexel at the Charleston Classic on Thursday.
Rodriguez scored 10 straight points in a 28-11 second-half run to take control for the Hurricanes, who started 3-0 for the second time in coach Jim Larranaga's three seasons. Miami will face Akron on Friday for a spot in Sunday's championship.
Miami had a landmark week by ending the Gators' 33-game home win streak Monday night. Yet the Hurricanes trailed Drexel 18-14 in the opening period before cranking things up on both ends of the floor.
The Hurricanes closed the opening half on a 14-2 run. After Drexel (0-3) cut the lead to 28-24 just after halftime, Rodriguez led the second-half run that put the game away.
Tavon Allen led the Dragons with 13 points.
Rodriguez had a career-high 24 points in the Florida win. He had three of Miami's season-high 11 3-pointers against Drexel.
Manu Lecomte added a career-high 15 points for the Hurricanes. Toyne Jekiri scored eight points and tied his career high with 13 rebounds.
Drexel will play Southern Cal on Friday, the winner moving into Sunday's fifth-place game.
Miami had its big win, 69-67, over No. 8 Florida on Monday and the Hurricanes came out a step slow against the Dragons. They made 4 of 5 shots to open the game, yet trailed 18-14 after Damion Lee's two foul shots with 10:11 left in the opening half.
That's when Miami kicked things in defensively to finish the half on a 14-2 run. Omar Sherman and Angel Rodriguez started the charge with 3-pointers, the latter one that put Miami up for good.
Rodriguez made two of three foul shots before Lecomte finished the scoring with a basket for a 28-20 lead at the break.
Where the Hurricanes made the biggest impression was on defense, pressuring Drexel into bad shots and missed chances. The Dragons managed only four foul shots in the final 10:45 and ended the half missing their last 11 shots.
TIP-INS
Drexel: The Dragons are 2-10 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. The wins both came against recent ACC members, Syracuse in 2006 and Louisville in 2010.
Miami: The Hurricanes win over Florida was their first road victory against a top-10 opponent in three seasons since winning at No. 7 Duke in overtime in February 2012.
UP NEXT
Drexel plays Southern Cal on Friday.
Miami plays Akron on Friday.
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