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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Miami-Florida 90, Florida A&M 59
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 16, 2017
Where: Watsco Center, Coral Gables, Florida
Officials: # Roger Ayers, # Anthony Eades, # Sean Hull
Attendance: 6375

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- His team had just won by 31 points, blowing out Florida A&M 90-59 Thursday night, but Miami coach Jim Larranaga was not a happy man.

"I didn't think we were very good start to finish tonight," he said after his No. 11 Hurricanes (3-0) posted their third double-digit win of the young season. "We need to play a whole lot harder and better defensively.

"We looked sluggish. We let them do some things that we planned on stopping. They caught the ball easily in scoring positions. We spread out our defense and let them drive to the basket. I told the team afterward I was extremely disappointed in our effort tonight."

He particularly noted the second half, when the Hurricanes outscored the Rattlers only 44-37.

"We gave them 37 points in the half and were very, very careless with the ball," he said.

Seven of their 12 turnovers came in the second half, and the Hurricanes allowed the winless Rattlers (0-3) to shoot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) from the field over the final 20 minutes after holding them to just 30.8 (8-of-26) in the opening 20.

But the Hurricanes themselves shot 63 percent in the second half (17-of-27) on their way to 58.6 percent for the game and placed six players in double figures after having five in double digits in each of the first two games.

It impressed coach Robert McCullum, a former Oregon assistant in his first season with the Rattlers, but he also saw where Larranaga was coming from.

"If that was his feeling, I can understand," McCullum said. "But they're pretty good. We weren't a good measuring stick, but I think the point he's making is that you want your guys to play their best and not play to the level of the competition.

"Of course, he knows there are a lot tougher opponents down the road and you want to get better. The goal is to get better each game, not to win. So I think that's probably the point that he was making."

His team, McCullum said, was "overwhelmed obviously" and except for a four-minute stretch at the start of the game that saw the Rattlers get within 10-9 and another brief period in the second half when they trimmed a 35-point deficit at 69-34 down to 29 at 69-40, they weren't able to put up much of a fight.

Guard Marcus Barham led all scorers with 22 points, but he was the only Rattler with more than nine points.

Guards Ja'Quan Newton, Bruce Brown, and DJ Vasiljevic scored 15 each to lead Miami.

"Basically, it was we didn't shoot too well at the free throw line (10-of-22) and he thought we could have played a lot harder than we did," Brown said was Larranaga's post-game message to the team. "We've just got to go back to practice and work on things that we've got to work on."

NOTES: This was the 175th win for the Hurricanes in their Watsco Center home (formerly BankUnited Center) against 66 losses. Miami coach Jim Larranaga is 80-22 in six-plus seasons in the on-campus arena. ... The Rattlers were guilty of four shot-clock violations in just over 13 minutes to start the game. ... Miami will leave home for the first time this season when it plays La Salle in Reading, Pa., Wednesday night. Reading is G Lonnie Walker's hometown. Walker left the game in the first half after twisting his ankle and did not return, but Larranaga said he expected him to be available. ... Florida A&M will play a fourth consecutive game on the road Saturday at Mississippi State.
Top Game Performances
 
Florida A&M   Miami-Florida
Marcus Barham 22 Scoring Bruce Brown 15
Desmond Williams 3 Assists Bruce Brown 4
Craig Bowman 6 Rebounds Bruce Brown 8
Marcus Barham 4 Free Throws Made Ja'Quan Newton 5
Craig Bowman 2 Steals Bruce Brown 2
Isaiah Martin 1 Blocks Ebuka Izundu 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Florida A&M 59 40.7 5-16 6-6 12 24 2 6 19
Miami-Florida 90 58.6 12-26 10-22 15 34 5 8 12