CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Matthew Cleveland had 15 points and 13 rebounds, five Miami players scored in double figures and the Hurricanes defeated Virginia Tech 82-74 on Saturday.
Norchad Omier and Kyshawn George led Miami with 16 points each. Nijel Pack and Bensley Joseph added 14 each.
The Hurricanes trailed by 10 points near the 12-minute mark of the second half. A 9-0 Miami run that started with a layup from Joseph and finished with a 3-pointer by Joseph gave the Hurricanes (15-7, 6-5 ACC) their first lead in 19 minutes of play, 60-59 with 6:47 remaining.
The Hokies (13-9, 5-6) responded with a couple of free throws from Hunter Cattoor and back-to-back baskets by Sean Pedulla for a 65-60 advantage. Miami responded defensively and forced a series of turnovers by the Hokies as Pedulla had four of them and the Hokies attempted only three shots in the next 4 1/2 minutes. A dunk by Cleveland capped a 9-0 run that gave Miami a 75-67 lead with 58 seconds remaining.
The Hurricanes outscored the visitors by 11 points at the free-throw line in the first 34 minutes and the advantage grew down the stretch when Virginia Tech chose to foul four times in the final minute. Miami made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 49 seconds and was 27-for-29 in the game. Virginia Tech made 7 of 14 from the line.
Pedulla scored 21 points and Cattoor had 19 points for the Hokies. Robbie Beran and Tyler Nickel scored 10 each.
Except for three ties, Miami held the lead for the first 14 1/2 minutes of the game before a jumper from Lynn Kidd gave the Hokies their first lead, 24-23. After Miami went back ahead 25-24, the Hokies got a 3-pointer from Nickel and two from Cattoor to go ahead 33-25 on the way to a 35-26 halftime lead.
The Hokies outshot the Hurricanes 46.7% to 34.6% in the first half and had advantages of 11-2 in points after turnovers, 11-0 in bench points and 18-4 in points in the paint.
Miami plays at Virginia on Monday. The Hokies play at Notre Dame on Feb. 10.
