Charleston, SC (SportsNetwork.com) - Stingy defense and a strong second half from Angel Rodriguez led Miami to a 66-46 win over Drexel in the Charleston Classic opener for both teams.

After the Dragons scored the first four points of the second half to cut Miami's lead to 28-24, Rodriguez scored 10 straight Hurricanes points in a span of two minutes to extend their lead to 38-27.

Hot shooting allowed Miami (3-0) to extend its lead to as much as 22 points in the second half. The Hurricanes shot 7-of-12 from 3-point range in the second half, led by Rodriguez and Manu Lecomte, who each scored a game-high 15 points.

The Hurricanes will play Akron in the second round of the tournament Friday.

Despite trailing just 28-20 at the break, Drexel's offense was stymied for much of the first half. Freddie Wilson's 3 at the 10:42 mark gave the Dragons (0-3) a 16-14 lead, but they wouldn't hit another field goal until Tavon Allen's dunk over a minute into the second half.

Drexel scored fewer than 50 points for the third straight game to start the season. The Dragons were limited to just 10 points in the paint by Miami's tough defense.

Allen led Drexel with 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting while leading scorer Damion Lee was limited to nine points.