Miami Falls in Overtime at Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team (4-16, 0-9 ACC) fell in overtime to the Cal Bears (11-9, 4-5 ACC), 98-94, Saturday evening at Haas Pavilion.

Senior Matthew Cleveland hit a 3-pointer with one second left in regulation to tie the score at 79 and send the game to overtime, but the Hurricanes could not close it out on the road.

Cleveland finished the night with 30 points for his third straight 20-point contest. The Atlanta native has now scored in double-figures in nine of the last 10 games.

Miami came out firing from beyond the arc, connecting on 46.7 percent of its 3-point attempts in the first half. However, the Bears recorded a dominant first-half performance on the glass, outrebounding the Hurricanes, 24-17, which translated to 12 second-chance in the first 20 minutes of action.

Those extra opportunities gave the Bears a 47-39 lead at the halftime break.

The Hurricanes opened the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to two, 47-45, just three minutes into the frame. Miami took its first lead since the 18-minute mark in the first half on a layup by Johnson with 10:52 to play in the game.

Miami and Cal went basket-for-basket down the stretch as the final 10 minutes featured six lead changes and six ties. Down three, 79-76, with four seconds to play, Cleveland hit a huge 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

Cal took an early four-point lead, 85-81, three minutes into the extra period thanks to a 4-of-4 effort at the charity stripe. The Hurricanes continued to battle pulling to within three, 95-92, on a 3-pointer by AJ Staton-McCray with 7.2 to go. Ultimately, the Bears connected on free throws when it counted and held on to win the game, 98-94.

Miami returns to the Watsco Center on Wednesday to host the Virginia Cavaliers. Tipoff in Coral Gables, Fla., is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPNU.