Miami Hurricanes basketball rough season continues as team blows late lead and loses 86-85 on 3-point play with 2.7 seconds remaining
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team fell in the final seconds to the Virginia Tech Hokies (6-8, 1-2 ACC), 86-85, Saturday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum.
Virginia Tech’s Mylyjael Poteat made a layup and knocked down the ensuing and-one free throw to put the Hokies ahead 86-85 with 2.7 seconds to play. The Hurricanes (4-10, 0-3 ACC) could not connect on the long-distance heave as time expired and were tagged with their third ACC loss of the season.
Senior Matthew Cleveland led Miami in scoring for the fourth consecutive game, tallying 21 points for his third 20-point contest in the last four games.
Freshmen Jalil Bethea and Austin Swartz joined Cleveland in double-figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively. The freshman class of Bethea, Swartz, Isaiah Johnson-Arigu and Divine Ugochukwu combined for 36 of Miami’s points in the game.
As a team, Miami shot better than 55 percent from the field for the fourth time this season. From 3-point range, the Hurricanes knocked down 47.1 percent (8-of-17) of their shots, with three different players accounting for a three in the game.
Miami was clicking on offense to start the game, connecting on eight of its first 11 shots. Likewise, the Hokies knocked down 4-of-5 attempts from 3-point range to take a 23-18 lead midway through the first half.
The Hurricanes responded with four straight baskets to retake the lead on a driving layup from Austin Swartz. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes with neither program leading by more than three until Miami strung together an 8-0 run late in the half to take a six-point, 38-32, with 3:19 to go in the frame.
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However, Virginia Tech’s Toby Lawal scored six straight points in the final two minutes of the first half to give the Hokies a 40-39 lead at halftime.
The first five minutes of the second half featured seven lead changes as Miami and Virginia Tech went bucket for bucket. Following a 54-54 tie at the 15:16 mark, the Hurricanes embarked on a 12-5 run to hold a 66-59 lead at the under-12 media timeout.
The Hokies battled back to tie the game at 74 with 5:29 to play after putting together a 9-2 run over a two-minutes span. Miami pulled back ahead by six but could not sustain the lead and the Hokies retook the lead, 86-85, with 2.7 seconds to play on a converted and-one basket by Poteat.
The Hurricanes return to the Watsco Center on Jan. 8 to host in-state foe Florida State. Tipoff in Coral Gables is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air on ACC Network.
