Timotej Malovec, a 6-8 freshman reserve from Slovakia, made a game-high four 3-pointers as the host Miami Hurricanes won their third straight game, defeating the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, 88-64, on Saturday afternoon.
Malovec’s 5-for-11 overall shooting busted Southern Miss’ zone as he finished with 16 points.
Miami (8-2), playing one day after coach Jai Lucas’ 37th birthday, also got a game-high 21 points from Malik Reneau, 14 from Tru Washington and 12 from Shelton Henderson.
In addition, Tre Donaldson posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 assists. Ernest Udeh Jr. added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Other than the final minute, the Hurricanes played just seven players as three of their key reserves were out: Dante Allen, Marcus Allen and Noam Dovrat.
Southern Miss (5-4), which had its four-game winning streak snapped, used 15 players. The Golden Eagles were led by Tylik Weeks and Djahi Binet with 12 points each. Isaac Taveras, who was averaging 17.9 points, was held to six.
Miami started poorly, trailing 8-0 after four missed shots and three turnovers. But Reneau hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to get Miami on the board at 8-6.
The Hurricanes took their first lead at 16-13 on a Reneau 3-point play with 12:37 left in the half.
There was a wild sequence with about nine minutes left in the half as Miami’s Donaldson stole a pass and missed a dunk with nobody near him. Southern Miss grabbed the rebound and got a dunk by Binet five seconds later.
By halftime, the score was tied 34-34 as Southern Miss shot 50 percent from the floor compared to just 35 percent for Miami. The Golden Eagles also looked like the hungrier team, and they made a bunch of shots late in the shot clock.
Reneau led all first-half scorers with 13 points.
In the second half, Miami used a 7-0 run to surge ahead 45-40 with 15:10 remaining.
That run was extended to 26-6 as Miami put the game away. Of note, Reneau was on the bench for much of that run.
