Mavericks put scare in Miami but fall 76-65
Hite and Diaz lead the Hurricanes to victory

Box Score

SEATTLE – The Miami Hurricanes regained their momentum in the final 6 1/2 minutes after almost squandering a 25-point lead, defeating Texas-Arlington 76-65 on Sunday in an opening round game in the Black Coaches Association tournament.

		Miami's Guillermo Diaz of Puerto Rico, is fouled as he drives to the basket by Texas-Arlington's Brady Dawkins.

Guards Robert Hite and Guillermo Diaz led the Atlantic Coast Conference Hurricanes with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while 6-foot-10 forward Gary Hamilton came off the bench to get 10 points and nine rebounds.

The long and athletic Hurricanes (1-0) dominated the game from the beginning and stretched their lead to 45-20 in the first 1:17 of the second half before the Mavericks (0-1) came storming back.

They went on a 22-2 run to cut their deficit to 47-42 on a fastbreak layup by Jeremy Dewalt with 8:15 gone in the second half. They cut Miami's lead to 52-49, 54-51 and 56-53 before the Hurricanes retook control.

In the final 6:22, Hite had seven of Miami's final 20 points, sinking a 3-pointer and a fastbreak layup.

Senior guard Jarrett Howell led Texas-Arlington with 19 points and freshman forward Anthony Vareern had 14 points.

The first half was all Miami.

The Hurricanes scored the first seven points of the game before Brandon Long's layup for the Mavericks with 6:44 gone. Then Miami went on a 15-0 run for a 20-2 lead with 9:43 left in the first half.

The Hurricanes' biggest lead in the opening half was 25 points at 41-16 after Hite sank two free throws with 1:43 left. With 10 players scoring, Miami was in front 41-20 at halftime.

Miami coach Frank Haith has four starters back from a team that was 16-13 last season, including 7-9 to tie for fifth place in the ACC. The Hurricanes played without point guard Anthony Harris, who is out with a fractured right foot.

Texas-Arlington was 13-15 last season, but has all five starters back.