Kidd and Canes Fail to Show up Against Drake in Tourney Loss
The University of Miami men’s basketball team lost to Drake 80-69 on Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the 2024 Shriners Children's Charleston Classic.
This one was not as close as the score reflected. The Hurricanes looked awful. They could not shoot and they could not rebound.
The loss drops Miami from the ranks of the undefeated. They entered the game 3-0 after impressive home wins, but the road was not kind to them on Thursday.
The Canes were led by Nijel Pack with scored 17 points. Brandon Johnson led Miami with seven rebounds.
Lynn Kidd, who was devastatingly good in Miami's prior three games, failed to show up against Drake. He finished the game with two points, three rebounds and zero assists in 20 minutes. He finished the game with three fouls and only played eight minutes in the second half.
Miami could not get much going offensively in the first half, while Drake was off and running and took an early nine-point lead. Bennett Stirtz was shooting lights out as he led Drake with 10 first half points. He finished with 21 on 8-of-17 shooting from the field.
Miami cut the deficit to five in the first half, but could get no closer before the half. They trailed 36-27 at the intermission.
Johnson scored all seven of his points in the final stanza to pull Miami within four. Miami would not sniff the lead in the second half.
Miami connected on five of their last seven shots, but they fell out of contention as Drake kept up with the Canes. Drake shot 46 percent from the field, while Miami shot 41 percent from the floor.
The Hurricanes were outrebounded 35-23 and lost the game on the glass and second-chance points. Drake only turned the ball over six times, compared to nine for Miami. The Hurricanes could only convert those six turnovers to six points,
Miami will play again Friday afternoon against the loser of the Oklahoma State-Florida Atlantic game at 2 p.m. ET at TD Arena.
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Scott Salomon joined On SI in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins site, and has since contributed to the Miami Heat, Back in the Day NBA, Miami Hurricanes and San Antonio Spurs sites. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. He's covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services.