Miami Falls to Virginia Tech, 72-68

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – Jeff Allen had 18 points and 11 rebounds, including three straight baskets for Virginia Tech in the second half, and the Hokies beat Miami 72-68 Sunday night.

Erick Green added 15 points and Malcolm Delaney had 14 for the Hokies (14-6, 4-3 ACC), who had to hold on at the finish to win for the 10th time in 12 games.

The Hurricanes (12-9, 1-6) lost their fourth in a row, but their combined margins of defeat in those games total only 11 points.

Durand Scott scored 21 points and Malcolm Grant 14 for Miami.Garrius Adams added 11 points for the Hurricanes, all in the second half.

The Hurricanes closed to within a point with 2:54 left, setting off a wild finish, but Green hit three key free throws in the last three minutes and the Hokies held on.

Miami used a 13-5 run to close a 57-48 deficit to 62-61 on Adams’ second consecutive 3-pointer with 2:54 to play, but Green scored inside and was fouled.

He made the free throw, setting up a wild finish.

Scott drove and scored, and Delaney answered with a 3-pointer, his first points of the second half, to make it 68-63. Scott drew a foul at the other end and made both again, and then Green did the same for the Hokies, keeping them ahead by five with 1:37 remaining.

Adams’ third 3-pointer 10 seconds later made it 70-68, and after Delaney missed a 3-pointer for the Hokies, Miami had two clean looks from behind the arc, and neither went down.

Delaney, the Hokies’ best free-throw shooter, was fouled with a chance to make it a two-possession game, but he missed the first and made the second, giving the Hokies a 71-68 lead.

When Miami missed another three, Terrell Bell rebounded for the Hokies, converted the last free throw and it was over.

Tonight’s Starters
For the second-straight game, Durand Scott, Malcolm Grant, Garrius Adams, Julian Gamble and Reggie Johnson started for the Hurricanes. This is the seventh game Coach Haith has used this starting lineup, with Miami going 4-3 with this starting five.

Reccuring Nightmare
The Hurricanes dropped their fourth-straight close game, falling by a combined 11 points over that span. Garrius Adams hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring Miami within one point, trailing 62-61 with 2:56 to go, and hit a third trey within a three-minute window to keep the ‘Canes within a basket, down 70-68 with 1:29 remaining in the game. But Miami would not score again, following up a two-point loss to Florida State (1/19), a two-point loss at NC State (1/23) and a three-point loss to North Carolina (1/26) with a four-point decision at Virginia Tech (1/30).

Great Scott
Durand Scott posted his fifth 20-point performance of his sophomore campaign and his second on the road in ACC play, finishing with a game-high 21 points — including 13 in the second half. Scott converted 7-of-13 field goals and a team-high 7-of-9 free throws, while dishing out a team-high five assists (with zero turnovers). Those are the most assists for Scott since registering five versus UCF on Dec. 18, 2010.

Cleaning the Glass
Sophomore big man Reggie Johnson pulled down a team-high 10 boards for the 14th double-figure rebounding performance of his career and the 11th this season. It marked the first time this season that he finished with 10-plus rebounds and did not record a double-double.

Silver Lining
True freshman Rion Brown finished with an ACC personal-best seven points in 21 minutes versus the Hokies. It is the most action for the guard since clocking 27 minutes in a win over McNeese State on Nov. 24.

The Hurricanes outscored the Hokies in four of five speciality stats — points in the paint (28-24), points off turnovers (10-6), second-chance points (13-12) and bench points (12-10). Virginia Tech had the 8-3 advantage in fast break points.

Shooting Woes
After hitting a season-high tying 13 three-pointers versus North Carolina on Wednesday — including an 8-of-13 effort in the first half, Miami struggled from long range versus Virginia Tech, converting just 29.6 percent of its three-point attempts. Malcolm Grant and Garrius Adams accounted for three threes apiece — with all three of Adams’ triples coming in the final 4:19 of the game to fuel a Hurricane rally.

Grant has hit a three in 18 of 21 games for Miami, with three-plus threes 12 times, including in eight of the last 10 games. Adams has hit three-or-more three-pointers four times this season, including twice on the road in conference play.

In addition, Miami struggled from the charity stripe, making just 12-of-19 attempts (.632) — although the ‘Canes did go 5-for-5 during the second half. One of the league’s stronger free throw shooting teams — and 32nd among all Division I programs, Miami was shooting 74.1 percent from the charity stripe entering today’s game.The Hokies shot just 62.1 percent from the line as well, including a 12-of-21 (.571) showing in the second half.