One of the Top Scorers in College Basketball was Halted by a Pesky Miami Freshman
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Who would have known that the defense of the Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team (5-17, 1-10 ACC) would be the driving force to snap its ten-game losing streak?
If you asked Miami Hurricanes freshman Divine Ogochukwu, he would be the first to raise his hand as he put on a special defensive performance against one of the best scoring guards in the country.
Coming into the game against Notre Dame, Ogochukwu was tasked with guard Fighting Irish guard Markus Burton. Burton averages 20 points and has scored 20-plus points in five straight games. Burton still scored against the Hurricanes finishing with 17 points. He is one of the most prolific scorers in the ACC but when Ogochukwu was on him, it was a different subject.
Burton finished the game 7-17 and 2-7 from beyond the arc. The pressure that Ogochukwu provided was something the Canes have needed all season and his star teammate agreed.
"I say that's the Divine I've been seeing all," Cleveland said. "The one that when he first got here this summer and fall so for him to finally put it together in a game especially against a good guard like Markus Burton for me that looked really good. It felt really good."
Ogochukwu finished the game with nine points, four assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Those steals coming against Burton and other passes he disrupted all night.
Miami interim head coach Bill Courtney highlighted the play of Ogochukwu as the star freshman comes into his own as the starting point guard for the Hurricanes.
"He was absolutely terrific," Courtney said. "He got his third foul early in the second half and Coach Irving told me to leave him in and I'm like oh man. If he gets his fourth foul we're done because he was playing great in the first half guarding Markus Burton from getting in the paint, and we decided to leave him in and he rewarded us for it. He made some of his free throws, so it's good."
Ogochukwu displayed a level of intense discipline in those closing stretches of the game. He will need it again as the Hurricanes have some time before they face No. 21 Louisville on Saturday.
READ MORE FROM MIAMI HURRICANES ON SI:
After One Win Miami's Matthew Cleveland Looks To Lead This Team To Another
REPORT: No Time Table for the Return of Nijel Pack
The Miami Hurricanes Seized the Moment and Snap its 10 Game Losing Streak
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at justice.sandle111@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@Justice_News5.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.