Still the only ACC victory of the Jim Larrañaga era in which Miami scored under 50 points, this defensive battle proved the loaded 2012-13 Hurricanes could win in multiple ways.
A fantastic seesaw affair at Littlejohn Coliseum featured 13 lead changes and eight ties. After neither team eclipsed 18 points in the first half, both scored exactly 27 after the break. The two sides combined to shoot 32.4 percent (35-of-108) overall, including 19.4 percent (7-of-36) from deep, on the day. Only three total players—just one from Miami—surpassed eight points. The full game stayed within an 11-point window, as the Hurricanes’ largest lead was six and Clemson’s was five.
While defense was the main story, Miami got late-game offensive heroics from two players. Down four with exactly one minute left, junior guard Rion Brown converted an old-fashioned three-point play to trim the deficit to one. After a Clemson free throw made it 43-41, redshirt senior forward Kenny Kadji delivered one of the most memorable moments of Miami’s historic season, nailing a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 ticks left. The Hurricanes forced a turnover at the other end, redshirt senior guard Trey McKinney Jones split a pair of free throws and then Clemson missed two shots in the closing seconds.
The triumph extended the Hurricanes’ winning streak to 13 and pushed them to second in the national rankings, good for the best mark in program history. Kadji paced Miami with 12 points, while senior guard Durand Scott had a game-high 11 rebounds and dished the assist to Kadji on the game-winning shot.
Game 25… Feb. 16, 2015: Miami 89, Boston College 86 (2OT) (Chestnut Hill, Mass.)