Hokies can’t cool off Hurricanes
Balanced Miami wins 7th straight
BLACKSBURG — Norchad Omier had 17 points and 14 rebounds as No. 13 Miami beat Virginia Tech 76-70 on Tuesday night for its seventh straight win.
Nigel Pack added 16 points for the Hurricanes (23-5, 14-4 ACC), who placed five players in double figures.
“I’m very, very proud of my team and the way we hung in there in the first half,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. “And the way we played in the second half.”
Sean Pedulla led Virginia Tech (16-12, 6-11) with 17 points.
Miami, which trailed by as many as nine in the first half, led the entire second half and built a 10-point lead with 9:58 remaining.
The Hokies closed to 64-60 on Grant Basile’s basket with 4:05 remaining.
The Hurricanes sealed the win
by making 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:02.
Isaiah Wong finished with 13 points and Jordan Miller had 11 for Miami, which shot just 42.2% (27 of 64) after leading the ACC at 48.7 percent coming into the game.
Hunter Cattoor finished with 15 points for the Hokies, who shot 46.7% (28 of 60), but allowed 14 offensive rebounds.
“We didn’t get the rebounding from our guards that we typically get and need,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. “I had a lot on their plate, getting to Wong, getting to Pack, getting to Jordan Miller is such a big deal, and they flat beat us to the ball a couple of times. That hurt.
“We weren’t quite good enough, and they are playing great, great basketball. I thought we did some really, really good things, but needless to say, not enough against the Hurricanes here tonight.”
The Hokies are probably looking at an NIT berth unless they can again win the ACC Tournament. They have just three Quad 1 victories.