Darius Maddox converted a turnover into the go-ahead 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, giving visiting Virginia Tech a come-from-behind 71-70 win against Miami in an ACC game on Saturday afternoon.
Virginia Tech (18-11, 10-8) rallied after trailing by eight points with 1:42 remaining. Miami led by four with 25 seconds left after Charlie Moore made the first of two free throws, but a layup by Sean Pedulla eight seconds later cut the Hurricanes’ lead to 70-68. Miami’s Kameron McGusty then had his inbounds pass deflected to Maddox, who hit the 3-pointer from the right elbow.
Miami’s Sam Waardenburg missed a 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Hokies their eighth win in nine games and fourth in a row on the road.
Keve Aluma led Virginia Tech with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Pedulla scored 17 points and Maddox had 13.
Miami (20-9, 12-6) lost its second straight home game, finishing 10-5 in its own arena this season.
McGusty led Miami with 15 points, but he missed the front end of a 1-and-1 late in the game before committing the turnover that led to Maddox’s winning basket. Isaiah Wong scored 14 points for Miami and Charlie Moore added 12 points and a game-high nine assists. However, Moore also missed a key free throw late.
In the first half, a 9-0 run gave Tech a 24-15 lead. But Miami closed the half with an 18-7 surge, capped by Wong’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left corner, to take a 35-33 lead into the locker room.
Virginia Tech shot 12-for-13 on 2-pointers in the first half but was just 2-for-10 on 3-pointers. Miami shot 48 percent overall, including 4-for-8 on 3-pointers. Tech had a 16-8 edge on rebounds, but Miami led 7-0 in steals.
In the second half, Miami stretched its lead to 54-48 as McGusty inbounded the ball off the back of Tech’s Hunter Cattoor, then retrieved the ball in bounds and made a reverse layup.
The Hurricanes led 67-59 with 1:42 to play before their late collapse.
–Field Level Media
