A Great Week for The Hurricanes

MEN’S BASKETBALL —

On Saturday, Feb. 14, Miami traveled to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack (18-8, 9-4 ACC) in front of 18,410 frenzied fans dressed in the Pack’s red, white and black colors. The attendees got their money’s worth.

The contest was tied 14 times and there were 19 lead changes. Neither team took a double-digit lead. Miami went up five midway through the first half and State’s largest advantage was eight in the first minute after the break.

With 5:43 remaining, Miami was up 69-65 but did not score for the next 4:31 and found themselves down 76-69 with 0:52 to go after an 11-0 Wolfpack run. A Malik Reneau driving layup and free throw made it 76-72. A Dante Allen steal at 0:47 and a Tru Washington offensive rebound and layup got the Canes to within two, 76-74 with 0:32.

Tre Donaldson was fouled on a steal five seconds later and missed the front end of the one-and-one. The Pack’s Ven-Allen Lubin knocked the rebound out of bounds and Miami regained possession with 0:26. After a Miami missed 3-pointer, Lubin grabbed the rebound and the Canes were forced to foul with 0:14. State guard Quadir Copeland missed the free throw. Miami’s Shelton Henderson rebounded with 0:12 and Miami called timeout with 0:8.1.

Henderson inbounded the ball to Reneau, who was immediately triple-teamed in front of the Miami bench. Reneau passed to Donaldson, who dribbled toward the top of the key and passed to an open Washington in the left corner. Washington launched a three but was fouled on the attempt with 0:3.7.

Tru calmly knocked all three down and the Canes were up 77-76. The Wolfpack’s Matt Able put up a desperation last-second shot that was never close and Miami had a statement win.

Reneau led all scorers with 26. Henderson added 17 and nine boards. Donaldson had 14, four assists and two steals. Washington, in his first game back after missing three due to personal issues, had 13 points, six rebounds and zero turnovers in 19:43 of playing time.

NC State outshot Miami from the floor, 3-point range and the foul line, but the Hurricanes’ edge on the boards and in the paint was the difference. Miami had a 40-29 rebounding advantage, including 20-8 on the offensive boards. In the paint, Miami outscored the Pack 56-32.

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, Miami (21-5, 10-3 ACC) hosted Virginia Tech (17-10, 6-8) and extended its winning streak to four with a 67-66 win over the Hokies. It was another rock’em, sock’em affair with the result in doubt until the final buzzer.

Neither team led by more than seven points in the contest, which was tied 10 times and had 12 lead changes. Virginia Tech led 34-31 at the half, but the game was decided after the break.

The Canes won this one because they had Tre Donaldson and the Hokies didn’t. Donaldson scored 24 of Miami’s 36 second-half points on the way to a career-high 32-point performance. He scored the Canes’ last 15 points, including the game-winning free throw with 12 seconds remaining.

Miami, 10-3 in conference play, is now tied with Clemson for third place in the 16-team ACC.

Next up is a trip to Virginia where the Canes will face the ACC second-place Cavaliers (22-3, 10-2) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21 (ESPN2). Miami returns home to play Boston College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28 (ACCN).

BASEBALL —

There is an extremely high standard for Miami baseball. A trip to Omaha to compete in the College World Series is the goal at the start of every season. The 2025 Hurricanes were one out away when they fell 3-2 at Louisville in the deciding game of last year’s Super Regional.

The 2026 season opened last weekend at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field with the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in for a three-game weekend series.

The Canes (3-0) dominated the Hawks in record-breaking fashion. The 57 runs Miami scored broke the previous three-game series record of 50 set in 1988. The 15 runs in the fifth inning on Sunday, Feb. 15 topped the 14 scored, also in 1988, and the 27-3 win on Sunday was the largest margin ever to secure an opening-series sweep.

Sophomore RHP AJ Ciscar was the starter in Friday’s 13-2 victory and earned the win with a five-inning, one-hit, one-run and seven-strikeout performance. In Saturday’s 17-11 win, junior RHP TJ Coats, with 3.1 innings of stellar relief, notched the W. On Sunday, Tate DeRias earned the decision with nine strikeouts in 4.2 frames. Six different relievers appeared in the series without surrendering a run. Pitching has been the question mark entering the season. So far, so good.

The offensive performance was off the charts. Miami averaged 2.59 runs scored per inning. Catcher Alex Sosa, a junior transfer from NC State, hit three home runs, scored seven runs, had seven RBIs and six hits in his debut weekend. Returning senior outfielder Derek Williams was 8-for-11 with six of those hits for extra bases, scored eight runs and followed two of Sosa’s home runs with four-baggers of his own in Saturday’s game. Miami-Dade College transfer Cian Copeland was 5-for-7 in his first Miami appearances with seven RBIs.

The Hurricanes as a team batted .441 with an .811 slugging percentage and a .559 on-base percentage.

The Lafayette Leopards come to Mark Light Field for a four-game series this weekend. First pitch on Friday, Feb. 20 is at 7 p.m. There is a doubleheader scheduled on Saturday with 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. starts and Sunday’s start is 1 p.m.

All eyes are on the weekend of Feb. 27-28 and March 1 when the Florida Gators come to town. It’s a great family atmosphere at the on-campus Mark Light Field. Come on down — when you do, you’ll come back.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL —

The LadyCanes (13-12, 5-9 ACC) bounced back from a four-game losing streak with an 82-70 win at Boston College on Sunday, Feb. 15.

Miami was led by Ra Shaya Kyle, who notched her 16th double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Ahnay Adams added 15 points and seven boards, while freshman forward Natalie Wetzel scored 14. Junior guard Gal Raviv dished out nine assists.

Next up is a three-game homestand with visits from Stanford on Feb. 19 at 8 p.m., Cal on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m., and Pittsburgh on Senior Night, Thursday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m.

The final regular-season game will be at Georgia Tech on March 1 with a 2 p.m. tipoff. The ACC Tournament begins March 4 in Duluth, Ga.

That’s it for now! Be well and Go Canes!