Canes roar back, 63-56
March 17, 2023

Miami roared back at the end of the game to defeat Drake 63-56 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Trailing by eight points, 55-47, with under five minutes on the clock, No. 5-seed Miami went on a 16-1 run to clinch the victory.

With one minute left on the clock, point guard Nigel Pack hit a jumper to finally put the Canes on top 58-56.  Miami (26-7) calmly finished the game at the foul line.

The Canes were led by Pack’s 21 points. Wooga Poplar contributed 15 points and injured power forward Norchad Omier turned in another double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Omier played 36 minutes despite injuring his ankle a week ago against Duke.

On the night, Miami held Drake’s Tucker DeVries, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, to only three points, significantly under his season-average 19 points per game.

The Canes shot poorly all night, hitting only 30.4 percent from the field. However, they were deadly at the foul line, hitting 23-29, and owned a 41-35 advantage on the boards.

No.5 seed Miami now moves on to play in Sunday’s Round of 32 against Indiana on Sunday night. Tip-off will be at 8:40 p.m. EDT. Coverage will be provided bt TBS.

GO Canes!

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