In a game it shot 57% from the floor, Virginia Tech couldn't hold on down the stretch at No. 23 Miami in its 92-83 loss in Coral Gables on Tuesday night.
The Hokies (13-9, 3-8 ACC) and Hurricanes (17-5, 8-4 ACC) traded baskets with not much defense played. But with eight minutes remaining, Miami started to get comfortable. Nijel Pack came alive, nailing three 3-pointers in a row. And after Grant Basile made a three with 4:55 left that led to a short 5-0 Tech run, the team went cold. Instead, it was the Canes who heated up.
Pack, who was absent in the first half, scored all 17 of his points in a six-minute span after intermission. And with the game tied at 76 with 4:16 to play, his 8-0 solo run helped Miami pull away.
Over the final four minutes, the Hokies missed their last seven shots while the Canes rode out the win. It's the best shooting performance in a loss for Virginia Tech since the team shot 58% and fell by seven at then-No. 8 Kentucky in Rupp Arena in Dec. 2017.
It was an electric first half with both teams above 60% from the field. Miami led 45-44 at the break while Isaiah Wong's 16 points paced all scorers. He had an explosive first half, as did Sean Pedulla, who scored 13 points. Tech shot 63%, including 4-of-7 (57%) from behind the arc.
In the second half, Tech keyed in on Wong, and it showed. Hounded by Hunter Cattoor, he scored just two more points, finishing with 18. Instead, it was Pack and Norchad Omier (game-high 21 points) who carried the Hurricanes. The duo scored 30 of Miami's 47 in the second half.
The game stayed close because both teams couldn't seem to miss. But it eventually caught up to the Hokies on the road against a top-25 opponent with the No. 11 offense in the country. Cattoor and Pedulla each dropped 20 while Basile contributed 17. Justyn Mutts got into the game in the second half, too, finishing with 10 points. All-in-all, it was a solid shooting performance.
But Virginia Tech couldn't buy a basket when needed. After hitting 12 of its 17 field goals (71%) in the first 15 minutes of the second half and pushing the lead to five, it seemed as if Miami would fade away. But the Hokies went ice cold all of a sudden, scoring their last nine points from the free throw line.
Turnovers didn't help. Tech gave the ball away 14 times, which Miami turned into 24 points. However, the Canes only committed 11 mistakes. And they crashed the boards, too. Though the rebounding margin was 27-21 in Miami's favor, Jim Larrañaga's club outscored the Hokies 11-2 on second chance points.
It was a disappointing result for Tech, who played well for 35 minutes and could've used a Quadrant 1 victory. Another awaits on Saturday when No. 6 Virginia (17-3, 9-2 ACC) ventures to Blacksburg on Saturday (12 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Cavaliers have won seven games in a row, including a 78-68 game against the Hokies in mid-January.
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