No. 12 ’Canes beat No. 11 Cardinals
Host Miami (23-5, 12-4 ACC) applied smothering defense led by center Tonye Jekiri to hold No. 11 Louisville (22-7, 11-5) without a point for nearly 5 minutes down the stretch Saturday to win 73-65. Angel Rodriguez had 17 points for Miami.
CORAL GABLES — They’re separated by just one spot in the most highlyregarded college basketball poll and for much of the day, Miami and Louisville played like equals.
The Hurricanes and Cardinals matched each other shot for shot, rebound for rebound, play for play.
There were seven lead changes, six ties and neither team led by more than eight at any given point.
Ultimately, it was the 12th-ranked Hurricanes who prevailed, picking up a 73-65 win over the 11th-ranked Cardinals in a key late-season ACC matchup Saturday afternoon at the Bank-United Center.
Miami, playing on its home floor for the final time this season, sent its four seniors out in style using a late 10-0 run that spanned a little more than four minutes to distance itself and secure the win, its second over a top-10 team in the past six days after a victory over No. 3 Virginia at home Monday.
And during that same stretch, the Hurricanes defense did its part, with Louisville (22-7, 11-5) closing the game hitting only one of its last 12 shots from the field.
Miami’s Angel Rodriguez and Davon Reed each had 17 points to lead the Hurricanes, who finished with 13 consecutive wins on their floor, the second-longest such streak in school history.
Sheldon McClellan, meanwhile, added 13 points while Ivan Cruz Uceda, who started as part of Miami’s tributes to its seniors, had nine points.
Fellow senior Tonye Jekiri added eight points and eight rebounds, capping a memorable afternoon for the four players widely credited with helping the Hurricanes (23-5, 12-4) establish themselves as ACC Tournament contenders.
“It was a very big day for us. It was Senior Day and we had four great seniors in Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan, Ivan Cruz Uceda and Tonye Jekiri and the one thing we didn’t want is them to end their senior years on a loss,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said.
“The game was very much in doubt midway through the second half.
“We fell behind and had a timeout, I stopped Angel as he came off the court and said to him, ‘Listen, you need to show everyone in this arena how hard you’re willing to play to win this game. Your teammates will follow.’ ”
Rodriguez, one of Miami’s more vocal and emotional leaders, responded.
With the Hurricanes trailing 44-36 early in the second half, Rodriguez scored Miami’s next seven points, eventually helping his team pull within three before his teammates rallied, as Larrañaga predicted.
But it was Miami’s final run — one that came after Louisville took a 62-58 lead on the strength of a layup by Donovan Mitchell — that proved the difference.
First, McClellan converted on a 3-point play. Then Jekiri hit a pair of free throws. McClellan did the same, Reed hit one of his four 3-pointers, the Hurricanes grabbed three key rebounds and pulled away.
“I think that set the tone right there,” Rodriguez said.
Now the Hurricanes, who entered the day in second place in the ACC, will finish the regular season with road games at No. 23 Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
After that will come the NCAA Tournament, where Louisville coach Rick Pitino said the Hurricanes have the potential to make a championship run.
“When you go to a Final Four after your tournament, you’ve got to be tough enough to win four games to get there. It has to be consistency,” Pitino said.
“Miami has all the tools. They shoot free throws well, they’re long, they’re physical, and they have experience. … They have all the little things, they’re very well-coached and welldrilled. They can be one of many teams to win four games and get to a Final Four.”