Late turnover is Canes’ downfall
Aamir Simms scored 25 points and his last basket with 19 seconds left was the game winner as Clemson beat Miami 66-65 on Saturday in Coral Gables.
Nick Honor stole the ball from Kameron McGusty with four seconds left on Miami’s final possession to secure the win.
Isaiah Wong made two free throws with 96 seconds left to cap a 10-2 run and the Hurricanes led 65-61. Honor responded with a three-pointer with 1:05 to go, and following a Miami turnover, Simms connected on the game clincher.
“I thought we gave a great effort today. I thought our guys executed the game plan very well,” Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga said. “The difference in the game was that Aamir Simms is a very hard matchup for us. … I’m very proud of the guys, the way they fought and played a very good game right up until the last possession.”
The Hurricanes fell to 13-16 all-time against Clemson, including 8-4 at home and 7-5 in Larrañaga’s tenure.
Simms started the game with a pair of three-pointers and a dunk and the Tigers led 8-3. PJ Hall’s jumper with 11:47 before halftime gave Clemson a 21-9 lead.
Miami responded and outscored the Tigers 23-11 before intermission. The Hurricanes grabbed their first lead of the game on Earl Timberlake’s layup with 45 seconds before the break and a 34-32 lead.
The lone Tiger to score in double figures was Simms, a senior forward who scored the team’s first eight points and finished with 25, adding seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks. He went 10 of 14 from the floor, 2 of 2 from deep and 3 of 4 at the line.
“When we played a big man on him, he stepped out and hit threes,” Larrañaga said. “When we played a smaller man on him, he went inside and posted up. That created matchup problems for us.”
Clemson (8-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) now has seven of its eight wins over Power 5 conference affiliates.
Wong led Miami (4-4, 1-2) with 13 points and Timberlake 11.
Saturday marked the 22nd all-time meeting between Larrañaga and Clemson coach Brad Brownell, including their time as CAA foes, with Larrañaga moving to 13-9 overall, including 9-1 at home.
Up next for Miami is a Tuesday matchup with North Carolina, with tipoff set for 8 p.m., on ESPN from the Watsco Center.