National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Miami-Florida 75, North Carolina Central 71
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Where: BankUnited Center, Coral Gables, Florida
Officials: # John Heatly, # Chuck Jones, # Brian Shea
Attendance: 1612

Miami (Fla.) 75, North Carolina Central 71: Manu Lecomte scored 18 points as the host Hurricanes survived a late rally by the Eagles to advance to the second round of the NIT.

Sheldon McClellan added 15 points for second-seeded Miami (22-12), which shot 50 percent from the field, including 8-of-16 3-pointers. Tonye Jekiri notched 11 points, six rebounds and two assists and Deandre Burnett totaled 10 points off the bench for the Hurricanes, who rebounded from the disappointment of a loss to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.

Jordan Parks racked up 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting to lead the offense for North Carolina Central (25-8), which shot 53.1 percent. Nimrod Hilliard added 19 points and five assists for the Eagles, who received just four points off the bench - all from Jeremiah Ingram.

McClellan and Hilliard traded 3-pointers to open the contest before Miami rolled off eight straight points to establish an 11-3 advantage in the opening five minutes. Another Hilliard 3-pointer drew North Carolina Central within 19-15 just before the midway point of the opening period before a 10-4 run by the Hurricanes strengthened their lead en route to a 34-25 halftime edge.

After the break, the Eagles scored the first six points to pull to within 34-31 but Miami regained the momentum and seemingly took command at 63-50 with 5:30 to play. A pair of Hilliard free throws with three seconds remaining capped a 21-10 jolt that brought North Carolina Central to within 73-71, but Davon Reed sank a pair of his own from the line in the waning seconds and the Eagles' comeback effort fell short.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Hurricanes improved to 8-11 all-time in the NIT, winning its sixth first-round game. ... North Carolina Central is 0-4 versus Miami. ... The Hurricanes host No. 6 Alabama on Saturday in the second round.
Top Game Performances
 
North Carolina Central   Miami-Florida
Jordan Parks 25 Scoring Manu Lecomte 18
Nimrod Hilliard 5 Assists Davon Reed 6
Jordan Parks 7 Rebounds Tonye Jekiri 6
Nimrod Hilliard 8 Free Throws Made Manu Lecomte 10
Karamo Jawara 2 Steals Angel Rodriguez 1
N/A Blocks Tonye Jekiri 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
North Carolina Central 71 53.1 8-17 11-14 11 20 0 4 9
Miami-Florida 75 50.0 8-16 23-25 13 24 2 2 12