Angel Rodriguez scored 17 points and No. 20 Miami responded from its first loss of the season and routed Savannah State 70-39 on Monday night.
The Hurricanes (9-1) never trailed and increased an 11-point halftime lead with a 13-2 spurt in the opening 6:39 of the second half. Manu Lecomte's 3-point play with 13:21 remaining ended the surge and gave Miami its first 20-point lead at 46-25.
The Hurricanes had their first 30-point led at 64-33 after Sheldon McClellan's two free throws with 2:53 remaining. Miami outscored Savannah State 36-16 in the second half.
McClellan and Lecomte each finished with 15 points for the Hurricanes, who dropped five spots in the rankings following a 68-55 home loss against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday.
Rodriguez's 3-pointer and three free throws in the first 8:20 helped the Hurricanes start the game with a 17-4 lead. Tonye Jekiri's layup with 11:40 remaining in the first half ended the early surge for Miami.
The Hurricanes had their biggest lead of the half at 27-10 on McClellan's dunk with 4:46 remaining.
Demarcus Bryant hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Tigers (3-7) outscored the Hurricanes 13-3 in the next 3:14. Jamal Norman's dunk with 1:32 remaining ended the spurt and cut Miami's lead to 30-23.
Sports
Bryant led the Tigers with nine points.
Two free throws each from Deandre Burnett and Rodriguez in the final 1:04 gave the Hurricanes a 34-23 lead at halftime.
McClellan has scored in double-figures in seven straight games. McClellan has reached double digits in eight of Miami's 10 games this season. Miami's next game is December 19 against Eastern Kentucky.
One other note, the last time Miami and Savannah State played was on the gridiron in 2013. In that game, Miami's football team won 77-7, outscoring the basketball team's victory on Monday night.
