close

McClinton leads Hurricanes to regional victory

1 min read

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The NCAA tournament’s visit to Arkansas began with a great performance by (Mc)Clinton.

Jack McClinton scored a career-high 38 points — 32 during a brilliant second half — and seventh-seeded Miami rallied for a 78-64 win over 10th-seeded Saint Mary’s in the first round of the South Regional Friday.

The Hurricanes trailed 32-27 at intermission, but McClinton was beginning to assert himself. Just before halftime, he easily drove to the basket a couple times. That, apparently, was just a warning.

Miami (23-10) went on a 25-5 run shortly after intermission. McClinton scored 10 straight points for the Hurricanes early in that stretch. Later, after the Gaels (25-7) pulled within eight at 64-56, McClinton calmly sank an open three-pointer from the left corner.

The win gives Hurricanes coach Frank Haith a potential second-round matchup with second-seeded Texas, where Haith was an assistant under Rick Barnes for three seasons before taking over at Miami.

Miami, which was predicted to be the Atlantic Coast Conference’s worst team this season, has now won eight of 11, part of a remarkable turnaround after a 12-20 record a season ago.