Brent Bland made five straight three-pointers in the first half and finished with a game-high 26 points, leading No. 17 Miami to a 94-52 win over North Alabama on Friday.
Bland made a career-high eight three-pointers for the game on 13 attempts. His effort was part of a historic night for Miami (3-1), which set a pair of program records with 13 made three-pointers in the first half and 20 three-pointers in all. The latter total broke the previous single-game mark of 18.
Miami had made just 14 shots from three-point range during its first three games and came into Friday’s game ranked 352nd in the nation in three-point shooting at 22.2%. North Alabama (2-2) began the game playing tight in the paint on defense, almost daring Miami to shoot from deep. That strategy, engineered by North Alabama coach and Miami native Tony Pujol, backfired…