CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Once Miami started making shots, it kept making shots.
Nijel Pack scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half in his return to the lineup after a two-week injury absence, Matthew Cleveland and Norchad Omier each added 23, and Miami beat No. 16 Clemson 95-82 on Wednesday night to improve to 9-0 at home this season.
The secret: Miami made 18 of its final 22 shots, fueling a 60-point second half against a Clemson team that came into the night giving up 69.2 per game.
“Maybe as bad a defensive half as I’ve had as a coach,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said.
On the flip side, Miami coach Jim Larrañaga wondered whether it was a first in his career — three players scoring at least 23 points in the same game. It hadn’t happened in his Miami tenure; there was a night in 1997 when his son Jay scored 40 and Antonio Daniels added 30 for Larrañaga’s Bowling Green team in a win over Akron.
“I think it’s the first time in 50 years with me,” Larrañaga said.
Kyshawn George and Bensley Joseph each added 12 for the Hurricanes (11-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are 7-3 against ranked opponents since the start of last season. Pack scored 13 of Miami’s points in a 21-6 run that gave the Hurricanes a nine-point lead with 10 minutes left, and Clemson never caught them.
Joseph Girard III scored 18 points and PJ Hall scored 17 before fouling out for Clemson (11-2, 1-1). Chase Hunter scored 16 for the Tigers — who led by six at the half, by eight early in the second half and were seeking their first 12-1 start since the 2017-18 season.
Instead, the defense simply fell apart. Miami wound up shooting 75% — 21 for 28 — in the final 20 minutes.
“Just lost our flow, really on both ends, in the second half,” Brownell said.
And it was with a new lineup for the Hurricanes. Wooga Poplar, Miami’s second-leading scorer, missed the game with a sprained ankle. George started in his place and got all 12 of his points on 3-pointers.
Chauncey Wiggins scored 12 and Ian Schieffelin had 11 for Clemson.
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