Isaiah Wong, Miami prevail in high-scoring affair vs. Cornell

Isaiah Wong scored 22 of his career-high 36 points in the first half, leading Miami to a 107-105 win over Cornell on Wednesday night in Coral Gables, Fla.

Miami’s Norchad Omier blocked a 3-point attempt by Max Watson with four seconds left that could have been the game-winning bucket. Miami’s Jordan Miller had missed a one-and-one free throw with five seconds left to open the door for Cornell.

Wong made 11 of 17 shots from the floor, including 5 of 8 from deep. He also made a key 3-pointer with 1:19 left in the game. He added a game-high-tying six assists and made 9 of 9 free throws.

Miller added 22 points, Omier had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds and Bensley Joseph came off the bench to score 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc.

Cornell got balanced scoring from Greg Dolan (19 points), Chris Manon (18), Nazir Williams (18), Sean Hansen (14) and Watson (13).

Miami (9-1) won its fifth straight game and improved to 6-0 at home. Cornell (7-2) had its seven-game win streak snapped. The Big Red have lost 39 straight games to Atlantic Coast Conference schools.

Miami, which entered Wednesday averaging 76 points per game, scored 66 in the first half. There were seven lead changes and four ties in the first half, but Miami went into the break with a 14-point lead.

With the score tied 22-22 with 11:53 left in the first, Hansen was called for a technical foul for arguing a non-call.

Wong made the two technical free throws in what became a five-point possession. After the free throws, Wong made a layup and got fouled. He made the free throw, and, after a Cornell miss, Wong made a baseline jumper to complete a personal 7-0 run.

For the first half, Miami shot a blistering 61.1 percent from the floor, while going 9-for-15 on 3-pointers (60 percent). Miami also shot 92.9 percent on free throws (13-for-14).

Cornell was also hot, shooting 53.8 percent from the floor.

For the game, Miami shot 55.4 percent from the floor, going 13-for-26 from distance.

Cornell shot 51.9 percent, including a 12-for-36 mark from deep.

–Field Level Media