Miami MBB Defeats AC Golfe Juan-Vallauris to Conclude Foreign Tour

The Miami Hurricanes played the third and final game of their foreign tour in France on Thursday night, beating AC Golfe Juan-Vallauris 87-69.

“That was an excellent way to end our amazing trip to France,” Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga said in a UM Athletics release. “We played a quality team that really pushed us. I was pleased to see the way our players—particularly Wooga, Matthew [Cleveland] and Norchad [Omier]—responded to lead us to the victory.”

Junior guard Wooga Poplar finished with a team-high 25 points, 20 of which were in the first half. Poplar was the driving force behind Miami’s offensive attack in its three games in France, averaging 20.3 points. 

In this third contest, Poplar also corralled nine rebounds and totaled three steals and one block. This well-rounded performance was crucial for the ‘Canes, who faced adversity early on in the game.

AC Golfe Juan-Vallauris started the game on a 16-9 run and held a 28-25 lead at the end of the first quarter. Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland scored five straight points to give Miami its first lead of the game and helped the Hurricanes take a 48-47 lead at halftime. Cleveland ended with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and a team-high 11 rebounds.

The Hurricanes carried over their second-quarter momentum into the third, outscoring AC Golfe Juan-Vallauris 25-13 to take a double-digit lead heading into the final period.

Miami continued defending at a high level in the fourth, holding its opponent to only nine points in the quarter. Junior forward Norchad Omier posted six points and seven rebounds in this period and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, recording his second double-double of the tour.

Miami compiled a 3-0 record in France. The Hurricanes averaged 98 points and a 26-point margin-of-victory in these games.

Here are some notable stats from UM’s win over AC Golfe Juan-Vallauris, courtesy of Miami Athletics: 

– AJ Casey: seven points, five rebounds, two assists, 3/4 field goals

– Matthew Cleveland: 21 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, 7/12 field goals, 3/5 3-pointers

– Norchad Omier: 18 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, four steals, one block, 8/10 free throws

– Nijel Pack: eight points, four rebounds, three assists, zero turnovers

– Wooga Poplar: 25 points, nine rebounds, three steals, one block, 8/11 free throws

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