CORAL GABLES, Fla., March 16 (UPI) -- Malcolm Grant led a hot Miami shooting performance Wednesday and the Hurricanes pulled away late to defeat Florida Atlantic 85-62 in the NIT first round.
Miami, one of two Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the tournament, shot 60 percent from the field and scored 42 of its 85 points in the paint.
Grant scored 23 points, Durand Scott added 19 and Reggie Scott had 14 points and 20 rebounds for Miami (20-14).
The Hurricanes held a 51-45 lead with 11:30 to play and then limited Florida Atlantic to a single point over the next 7 minutes. Miami will take on Missouri State in the second round.
Florida Atlantic (21-11) won the regular-season title in the Sun Belt Conference before losing to North Texas by 14 in the league quarterfinals. North Texas wound up losing to Arkansas-Little Rock in the finals at the buzzer and Arkansas-Little Rock, in turn, fell to North Carolina-Asheville in the first game of NCAA Tournament on Tuesday.
Florida Atlantic was led by Greg Gantt with 17 points.
