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FINAL SCORE:  UM:  70  SM:  60

Wise hits a three on the Eagles' last possession as the Canes dribble out the clock and end with a ten-point win over Southern Miss.  Stay tuned for post-game coverage!

  

0:52/2nd Half:  UM: 70 SM: 58

Jeremy Wise hits a runner for the Eagles and draws the foul call on Graham for a block in the last minute of the game.  He hits the free throw.

1:35/2nd Half:  UM: 69  SM: 55

Jimmy Graham scores with the foul, misses the shot, and Dwayne gets the rebound and gets fouled on his way up.

1:49/2nd Half:  UM: 67  SM: 55

Stephens also fouls out for the Eagles after a decent game - 7 points, 7 rebounds.  Southern Miss will be fouling the rest of the way, as Jimmy misses both free throws but the Canes grab the rebound and get the nod on a jump ball.

1:59/2nd Half:  UM: 67  SM: 55

R.L. Horton fouls out for the Golden Eagles as Lance hits 1 of 2 at the line.  

2:21/2nd Half:  UM: 66  SM: 55

Jack gets called for another travel call, which is at least his third of the game.  On the next possession, Cyrus fouls out and the Eagles hit both free throws. 

3:43/2nd Half:  UM: 66  SM: 51

Jimmy hits both his free throws after Jack nearly had his pocket picked as Jimmy was fouled down low.  An unlucky long rebound on the Eagles' previous possession ended up in an easy slam dunk for the Eagles.  

4:30/2nd Half:  UM: 64  SM: 49

The Canes are starting to heat up from three-point range, as Lance hits one from downtown off the dish from McClinton.  Three players in double figures for the Canes so far - Jack, Dwayne and Lance.

5:12/2nd Half:  UM: 61  SM: 47

Jack hits a long three-pointer from the baseline after a Golden Eagles bucket.  He misses one of his free-throws (ending his 44 in a row streak) but hits the other after getting fouled coming off a screen.  The Canes then force a turnover and get Jimmy Graham an easy dunk on a fast break.  Time-out.

7:48/2nd Half:  UM: 54  SM: 42

Some ugly offensive possessions for both teams, as Dews and McClinton both miss long three-pointers on back-to-back possessions.  Dews gets fouled while rebounding Jack's attempt, however, and there's a time-out on the floor with Dews about to step to the line.

9:07/2nd Half:  UM: 54  SM: 42

Dwayne's at the line now and hits both his free throws after an over-the-top foul by the Eagles after a missed free throw of their own.  Canes in the bonus.  

9:47/2nd Half:  UM: 52  SM: 41

Jack's at the line after a bad offensive possession for the Canes, and hits both free throws to put the Canes back up 11 after SM hit both of their own free throws on the previous posession.   

11:38/2nd Half:  UM: 50  SM: 39

Time-out on the floor after the ball got knocked out of bounds off Miami.  On the court before the break: Collins (11 points), Hurdle (9), Asbury (6), Dews (5) and Graham (2).  Hurricane team looking snazzy in orange kicks, by the way.  

12:09/2nd Half:  UM: 50  SM: 39

Lance Hurdle rips through the Eagles' defense en route to a lay-up, but the Canes get lazy on defense and give up an easy bucket in the paint.  Asbury drives to the bucket and misses, gets his own rebound, and hits both free throws to up the Canes lead to 11.  

13:40/2nd Half:  UM: 46  SM: 37

Dwayne Collins hits one of two after getting fouled, followed up by a quick and one (made) for the Eagles.  Dews hits a big three-pointer for the Canes, the Eagles follow it up with a miss, and Asbury lays it in with his left hand on a fast break.  Eagles want a time-out after a quick five-point run for the Canes.   

15:37/2nd Half:  UM: 40  SM: 32

Cyrus has a nice post move and lay-up and gets fouled, it's a time-out and we're waiting on the free throw.  The Canes were reeling before the sequence - a lot of bad shots for the Canes leading to fast breaks for the Golden Eagles.   

17:25/2nd Half:  UM: 38  SM:  30

Another bad shot for the Canes, another quick Golden Eagles bucket.  Time to wake up, Miami.

18:00/2nd Half: UM: 38  SM: 28

Dwayne's up to double digits with 10, but the Canes are not playing well on defense early on in the second half.

Halftime Thoughts:

The Canes are up twelve after a beautiful run to end the frame.  Dwayne Collins is the leading scorer for the Canes with 8 points at half, followed by Hurdle with seven, McClinton with six, Thomas with five, and five other players with two points each.  Clearly depth is going to play a key role this season - that's nine players who have registered points for the Canes in this first-round matchup.  

The Canes are shooting 3-11 from three-ball land (27%), and are only outrebounding the Golden Eagles by two - 15 to 13.  Senior Craig Craft has been the man for the Eagles with eight points so far.  The only player on either team in serious foul trouble is Cyrus McGowan, who had three in the first half.

On a separate note, this video feed is immensely disappointing thus far.  There's no commentary on the feed, the video didn't connect until about six or seven minutes into the game, and the picture looks like video from my dad's 1999 Sony Handycam.  Other than that, it's great.  

Let's hope for a more consistent performance from the Canes in the second half - the first period was clearly a rollercoaster series of runs by both teams.  About four minutes to go before the start of the second half, so stay tuned for more updates.   

HALFTIME:  UM: 36  SM:  24

Jack hits a big three and the Canes force a turnover on the ensuing drive...with five seconds left, Hurdle takes another last second three-point attempt that bounced about three feet in the air of the rim and fell right back in.  Canes up 12 at the half, and end the half on a 10-0 run.

0:38/1st Half:  UM: 30  SM: 24

The Canes force a turnover with good defense, and call a 30-second timeout for the last possession.  

0:57/1st Half:  UM: 30  SM: 24

Dwayne hits a shot in the lane thats discounted as he was fouled before shooting.  He hits both free throws, to up the Canes lead to six.  

2:39/1st Half: UM: 26  SM: 22

Collins adds two free throws but gives up a rebound downlow leading to an easy bucket in the paint for the Eagles.  

3:12/1st Half:  UM: 24  SM:  20

Dwayne Collins nets an easy lay-up downlow to end a 9-0 run by the Golden Eagles.  Jump ball favors the Canes.  Time-out on the floor.  

5:17/1st Half:  UM: 22  SM:  19

Wise hits a wide-open three pointer, Craft hits a three pointer, and just like that, Miami's 11 point lead is down to 3.  Shot selection has not been good for the Canes tonight - way too many quick shots.

7:09/1st Half: UM: 22 SM: 13

McClinton hits a deep two-pointer but Craft follows up a Wise miss with an easy layup.  Ends a big Miami run.  

7:48/1st Half:  UM: 20  SM:  11

Hurdle hits two more free throws, Adrian Thomas adds a three pointer.  Miami is 2-8 from three point range.  On the floor:  Collins, Thomas, Dews, Hurdle, McClinton.

10:11/1st Half:  UM: 15  SM: 11

Asbury misses a quick three but scores on a DeQuan Jones led fast break with a layup.  Cyrus wth two fouls early on.

11:26/1st Half:  UM: 13  SM: 9

Sorry for the early delays.  Jack McClinton has three points, Dews with two, Collins with two, Graham with two, Cyrus with two, Hurdle has two.

Now let's start the show, show.

Thanks for joining us here at T.H.T.J.B. for a running commentary on the Paradise Jam opener today against Southern Mississippi.  Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM, so check back here for up-to-the-minute updates on the Canes progress against the Golden Eagles.  

And the Weather's So Breezy...Man, Why Can't Life Always Be This Easy?

The U.S. Virgin Islands have a total population of about 110, 000 - roughly 50% of whom call Saint Thomas home.  The island, sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493, has an area of an estimated 30 square miles, including the territorial capital Charlotte Amalie.  The United States purchased St. Thomas in 1917 for $25 million in a package deal that included additional islands Saint John and Saint Croix.  

Did you ever learn any of this in school? No, probably not, unless you took a History of the Caribbean class at UM (or some other less accomplished university, for that matter).  This weekend, however, the eyes of all Hurricane fans should be square on that small island as the Canes try to win their second Paradise Jam title in program history.

The Canes won the very first Paradise Jam tournament in 2001 with a 67-65 win over Clemson. Last season, the Canes made a trip to Puerto Rico for the first ever Tip-Off Tournament, and returned as champions with a six-point victory over Providence.  The Canes now return to the Virgin Islands for the first time since the inaugural Paradise Jam with dreams of another championship trophy.

Friday's tournament opener has the Canes squaring off against Southern Mississippi at 1:00 PM EST.  If Miami is able to pull off the victory, they'll likely take on #2 Connecticut, who is facing off against La Salle in Game Three of the tournament (6:00 PM EST).  The other side of the bracket has San Diego battling Valparaiso at 3:30 EST (Game Two) and Wisconsin matched-up against Iona in Game Four, the last opening day contest at 8:30 EST.  

None of Friday's opening round games will be televised, but the semi-final round and championship games will be broadcast on Fox Sports.  If the Canes beat Southern Miss, they'll be playing again at 6:00 EST on Sunday, November 23rd.  If the Canes lose (hypothetically speaking, of course), they'll play Saturday night at the same time (6:00 EST).

The Golden Eagles of Southern Miss finished 19-14 last season and return six of their seven top scorers from '07-'08, none more impressive than junior guard Jeremy Wise (18.7 ppg last season).  Wise, who is averaging 24.5 points in the Golden Eagles first two wins over Loyola (N.O.) and Alabama State, was described by Frank Haith as likely "one of the best guards we'll face this year."  

Does that mean you should be scared of a potential upset at the talons of these Eagles?  Eh...no, but don't start looking ahead to UConn just yet either.  The Golden Eagles' near 20-win season was no fluke, and they bring back a more experienced team with returning scorers, including Wise, senior Courtney Beasley (12.0 ppg) and sophomore R.L. Horton (12.0 ppg).  

Southern Miss is a very undersized team in general, with only four players on the roster listed over 6-7 and only one of whom making any real contributions (6-8 junior Andre Stephens).  The Canes will need to look to their big men to establish a post game early on in the contest, so expect a big game out of Dwayne and Cyrus down low.  Wise (55%) and Beasley (44%) are both tremendous shooters from the field, so the Canes will need to maintain their lockdown defense that has impressed early on.

Remember, the Canes' pre-season tournament championship in Puerto Rico helped set the tone for a tremendous start out of the gates last year (13-1 before their first ACC regular season game).  Miami will hopefully find themselves in a match-up against former Big East rival and #2-ranked UConn on Sunday, a team the Canes beat out for a pledge of allegiance from high school shooting guard Durand Scott this past week.  

Beating UConn twice in the same week would be nice, wouldn't it? Alright, alright, enough being hypocritical on my part.  No more looking ahead.  Let's see the Canes shoot down the Golden Eagles tomorrow before any wild predictions for the rest of the tournament.

You can register to watch streaming video of the opening round games here:   

http://www.watchbtihoops.com/

The site has been a little wonky with registration, but hopefully it will be up and running before tomorrow's 1:00 tip.   Oh, and don't forget to watch the Canes football team take on Georgia Tech tonight on an ESPN prime-time matchup at 7:30 PM.