Jan. 24, 2002

Box Score

MIAMI (AP) - Darius Rice had 30 points and 10 rebounds as No. 22 Miami beat Villanova 76-58 Thursday night, extending the Hurricanes' winning streak to four games.

Rice, the first Hurricane to have consecutive 30-point games since Eric Brown in 1989, was 10-of-15 from the field and had four 3-pointers. His dunk with 2:43 left gave Miami (18-2, 5-2 Big East) a 62-47 lead after Villanova mounted a mild comeback.

The Hurricanes, who improved to 12-0 at home, led by as many as 25 points, 37-12, on Rice's 3-pointer. In the second half, the Wildcats (10-6, 3-4) cut the lead to 62-51 on a layup by Brooks Sales.

Villanova, which has lost four of five, shot 34 percent, including 4-fof-23 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 26 times.

John Salmons had 15 points and five assists for Miami, while Marcus Barnes added 14 points and four steals.

Gary Buchanan led Villanova with 15 points, but he was 5-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-12 from behind the arc. Derrick Snowden had 12 points, while Sales had 10 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute.

Rice was 8-of-10 in the first half, including 4-of-4 on 3s, as the Hurricanes built a 41-23 lead.

It was the second straight game Rice had 20 points in the first half. On Saturday, he finished with 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting in a 102-96 overtime win over Providence.

The Hurricanes got off to their best start of the season, taking a 12-0 lead. Rice hit his first six shots, including three 3-pointers, and had 15 points in the opening eight minutes.

Miami used a 15-0 run to go ahead 27-3 on Elton Tyler's jumper. The Wildcats turned the ball over 16 times in the first half and started off shooting 1-of-13. In one stretch, they went 6:16 without a field goal.