National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Miami-Florida 87, South Alabama 75
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, November 28, 2014
Where: BankUnited Center, Coral Gables, Florida
Officials: # Sean Casady, # Wally Rutecki, # Brian Shey
Attendance: 4267

No. 20 Miami (Fla.) 87, South Alabama 75: Sheldon McClellan led all players with 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting as the host Hurricanes used a fast start to ward off the Jaguars.

Tonye Jekiri added 13 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five blocks for Miami (7-0), which shot 54.4 percent. Manu Lecomte totaled 14 points and handed out five assists and Omar Sherman and contributed 13 points off the bench for the Hurricanes, who dished out 21 assists, compared to nine turnovers.

Ken Williams' 16 points paced the offense for South Alabama (1-3), while Taishaun Johnson added 13. Dionte Ferguson and Barrington Stevens turned in 12 points apiece, while Ferguson grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and Abdul Lewis chipped in a 10-point effort off the bench for the Jaguars, who shot 40.5 percent.

Miami had a hot hand from the start, jumping out to a 23-0 lead as South Alabama started 0-for-11 from the field. The Jaguars finally came to life, scoring eight of the next 10 points, but they missed all nine of their first-half attempts from 3-point range and couldn't cut into the lead significantly, hitting the locker room at halftime down 43-21.

After the break, South Alabama was able to cut into the lead, trimming the deficit to as few as 11 late but would never get a shot at mounting any real comeback effort. After Johnson's 3-pointer pulled the Jaguars to within 84-73 with 40 seconds left to play, Lecomte answered with a pair of free throws and though Ferguson's tip shot once again brought South Alabama to within 11, it was far too little to threaten the Hurricanes' lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Miami had not started a season with seven consecutive wins since 2009-10, when it rolled off eight straight to start the year. ... South Alabama has shot 19-of-37 from the free-throw line over its last two games. ... Jekiri has grabbed eight rebounds or more in six of seven games this season and has managed at least one rejection in seven straight.
Top Game Performances
 
South Alabama   Miami-Florida
Ken Williams 16 Scoring Sheldon McClellan 17
Barrington Stevens III 5 Assists Tonye Jekiri 8
Dionte Ferguson 14 Rebounds Tonye Jekiri 8
Dionte Ferguson 2 Free Throws Made Manu Lecomte 6
Ken Williams 4 Steals Angel Rodriguez 2
Tafari Whittingham 1 Blocks Tonye Jekiri 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Alabama 75 40.5 4-18 7-14 11 39 3 7 6
Miami-Florida 87 54.4 7-16 18-23 21 32 8 3 9