GAMEDAY Mens Basketball
Miami 63, Drake 56
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer
ALBANY, N.J. - Nijel Pack scored 21 points - including the go-ahead jumper and a pair of free throws in the final minute - to rally No. 5 seeded Miami past Drake 63-56 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Hurricanes (26-7) scored the final 10 points in just barely getting past 12th-seeded Drake just a year after reaching the Elite Eight.
Norchad Omier added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who won despite being held to a season-low 63 points. Wooga Poplar had 15 points.
Darnell Brodie had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Drake (27-8). The Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions were outscored 16-1 over the final 4:29 and 10-0 in the last 2:28. The Bulldogs missed their last seven shots from the field and were scoreless the final 3:24.
Mo Valley Player of the Year Tucker DeVries, whose father is the coach, scored three points on 1 of 13 shooting.
Miami will face the winner of the game between fourth-seeded Indiana (22-11) and 13th seeded Kent State in the second round of the Midwest Region.
March 17, 2023
| Drake | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| D. Brodie | F | 33 | 9-14 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| T. DeVries | G | 35 | 1-13 | 0-0 | 1-11 | 0-8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| R. Penn | G | 34 | 4-13 | 3-4 | 0-2 | 0-6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| D. Wilkins | G | 34 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| G. Sturtz | G | 19 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| S. Calhoun | 27 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 4-5 | 0-6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 | |
| C. Enright | 11 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| N. Ferguson | 7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| Totals | 200 | 22-55 (.400) |
5-8 (.625) |
7-24 (.292) |
2-35 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 56 | |
| Miami (FL) | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| N. Omier | F | 36 | 2-9 | 8-9 | 0-1 | 5-14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| J. Miller | G | 37 | 2-7 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 0-8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| N. Pack | G | 35 | 7-15 | 4-4 | 3-7 | 0-4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| I. Wong | G | 35 | 1-10 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 0-6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| W. Poplar | G | 27 | 5-10 | 2-2 | 3-6 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| B. Joseph | 12 | 0-2 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| H. Beverly | 11 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| A. Walker | 7 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Totals | 200 | 17-56 (.304) |
23-29 (.793) |
6-18 (.333) |
9-41 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 63 | |
