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McGowan leads balanced effort for Miami

Nov 30, 2008 - 2:18 AM CORAL GABLES, Florida (Ticker) -- Cyrus McGowan's great start for Miami made quick work of Stetson.

McGowan scored nine of his career-high 14 points in the first half as No. 21 Miami continued its success against Stetson with a 79-65 victory on Saturday.

Jack McClinton and Dwayne Collins both scored 12 points while James Dews chipped in 10 for the Hurricanes (4-1), who defeated their in-state foe for the sixth straight time.

Miami was able to wrap up the victory early thanks to the 6-9 McGowan, who entered the game averaging 7.3 points. Coming off his first double-digit scoring effort with 10 points in Monday's 80-45 rout of San Diego in the Paradise Jam, McGowan kept his scoring touch intact, netting the first six points of a decisive run.

After the Hatters tied the score at 11-11 with 14:10 left after a 3-pointer by Mark Lohuis, McGowan split two free throws, dunked and connected on his only 3-pointer to ignite a 19-5 run.

Miami took a 39-27 lead at the half, and led by no less than 10 points thereafter as it won its 10th straight non-conference contest here.

The Hurricanes moved ahead, 62-46, on a dunk by Collins with 8:49 remaining before the Hatters later sliced their deficit to 66-56 on a pair of free throws by Kris Thomas. Yet, Miami came right back with an 8-0 run as Lance Hurdle hit a 3-pointer and McClinton added a jumper and three free throws.

McGowan also had eight rebounds and Collins added seven for the Hurricanes, who finished with a 48-36 advantage on the boards.

While McGowan had one of the best games of his career, one player that surprisingly struggled was Brian Asbury. The senior forward finished with six points on 2-of-7 shooting and five rebounds.

Asbury entered the contest with career averages of 18.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in two previous games against Stetson.

Garfield Blair scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half for the Hatters (2-3), who shot 34 percent (23-of-68).

The older brother of Miami women's basketball player Briyana Blair, Blair went 9-of-21 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds.

Thomas had 14 points and Sheldon Oliver added 11 for Stetson.