CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The nationally-ranked Miami Hurricanes withstood a furious comeback by the La Salle men's basketball team and came away with an 84-77 victory over the Explorers on Saturday. Junior Khalil Brantley had a team-high 23 points to lead the visitors, who fell to 8-3 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brantley scored the opening basket for La Salle and led the Explorers with 10 points in the first half.
• Brantley and classmate Daeshon Shepherd accounted for 18 of the 33 points the team scored in the stanza.
• The Hurricanes shot well throughout the first period, connecting on 57.6 percent of its field-goal attempts, including 16-for-23 from two-point range (69.6%).
• Wooga Poplar, a Philadelphia native, had 11 points to lead the home team while Matthew Cleveland added 10.
• Miami pushed its lead to an 18-point margin early in the second half, before La Salle responded with six straight points to get back to within striking distance.
• Brantley connected on a three and senior Anwar Gill converted a tough runner in the lane as part of the spurt.
• The run continued for the Explorers, as consecutive three-pointers by Brantley and sophomore Andres Marrero put the score at 71-67 in favor of the home team
• After a timeout, Miami scored the next six points and the Hurricanes fended off the feisty Explorers the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Poplar closed with a game-high 25 points while Norchad Omier had 23 points for the Hurricanes.
• La Salle shot 55.2 percent from the field in the second half, and held Miami to 44.4 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.
• The Hurricanes dominated the battle on the boards, outrebounding La Salle, 39-25.
• Shepherd closed with 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi added 10 points off the bench for La Salle.

UP NEXT

• La Salle returns home for its final two non-conference contests of the year, beginning with a matchup against Rosemont College on Thursday, Dec. 21.
• The game is part of a doubleheader with the women's team, and will begin at 2:30 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN+.