Moore finished with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a 5-of-7 mark from beyond the arc. The Chicago native, whose first 15 points came from long range, added co-game-highs in both assists (four) and steals (three).
“I liked that Charlie Moore took control of our team early,” Larrañaga said. “He really quarterbacked us. It’s his first game at Miami where he scored 20 points … [and he had] just a great all-around game.”
Miami’s two other backcourt starters, McGusty and third-year sophomore guard Isaiah Wong, also scored in double figures. The former posted 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while the latter tallied 19 on a superb 8-of-11 clip, including a 3-of-6 ledger from deep.
Sixth-year redshirt senior forward Sam Waardenburg co-led all players in both rebounds (eight) and assists (four), the second mark just one shy of his career best.
Graduate student forward DJ Jones led all players with 24 points for Florida A&M. He shot 11-of-19 from the floor and grabbed a co-game-high eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Jalen Speer added 19 points and went 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
Miami held senior guard MJ Randolph—he entered the night averaging 24.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game—to just nine points, four boards and three assists. He shot 3-of-13 from the field, missed his first eight shots and did not score until the final 14 minutes.
The Hurricanes, who led for 38:58, concluded the night shooting exactly 50.0 percent (31-of-62) from the field, while limiting the Rattlers to a 35.3 percent mark (24-of-68). The Hurricanes’ plus-16 margin on the glass included pulling down 16 offensive boards and allowing only 18 defensive rebounds.
In addition, the Hurricanes had a 24-7 advantage in bench points, their largest positive margin of the young season.
“The guys off the bench did a good job,” Larrañaga said. “Anthony Walker, Jordan Miller, Wooga Poplar and Bensley Joseph all gave us a lot of quality minutes. That’s a big key for us.”
Miami now heads to the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Fla., where it will play three games in four days. First up is a matchup with Dayton Thursday at noon, live on ESPN2.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesHoops on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.