Miami played without its leading returning scorer Dewan Hernandez, but the Hurricanes still managed to manufacture an 83-62 victory over Lehigh in their season opener Friday night at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables.

The Hurricanes (1-0) jumped out to an early 24-11 cushion by cashing in on 6-of-9 3-point shooting and went to the locker room up 38-26 after sinking eight 3-point attempts. They led by as many as 19 points early in the second half before the Mountain Hawks (1-1) rallied to within six points at 53-47 with12:24 remaining in the game.

Sophomore guard Chris Lykes stemmed the Lehigh comeback with a 3-pointer and two free throws on the next two possessions as Miami went on a 7-0 run to regain control. The Hurricanes had a 15-point cushion, 66-51, with 8:22 left in the game and led 83-59 with 1:26 remaining.

Lykes led five Miami players in double figures with a career-high 22 points. Senior guard-forward Anthony Lawrence II recorded the third double-double of his career for Miami with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Dejan Vasiljevic added 16, forward Sam Waardenburg 11, and center Ebuku Izundu 10.

Senior guard Lance Tejada led Lehigh with 19 points with 16 coming in the second half to lead a Lehigh surge. Junior forward Pat Andree managed just 10 points after scoring 31 in the Mountain Hawks' opening win. Guard Kyle Leufroy had 12 for the Mountain Hawks with 10 coming in the first half.

Miami issued a statement about 20 minutes before the opening tip that Hernandez, a junior forward who changed his name from Huell in the offseason, was being held out of competition while the school and NCAA reviewed his eligibility.

The release offered no details, but an ESPN report earlier in the week said that Hernandez' name appeared in an email that was part of the FBI's investigation into college basketball recruiting and corruption. Hernandez averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds a game last season.

--Field Level Media