Miami basketball wins seventh straight at Virginia Tech

The Miami basketball team held off Virginia Tech late with a 76-70 win over the Hokies in Blacksburg. Miami somewhat struggled offensively shooting 42.2 percent from the floor and making seven of its 22 three-point shots. The Hurricanes shot 15-19 from the free-throw line to make up for the inconsistent offense.

Norchad Omier had his 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Nijel Pack scored 16, Isaiah Wong 13 and Jordan Miller 11. Sean Padulla led Virginia Tech with 17 points but was 6-15 from the floor with six rebounds. Virginia Tech shot 46.7 percent from the floor but made just nine of 27 three-pointers.

Virginia Tech took control of the game early taking a 17-8 lead with 12:23 remaining in the first half. Miami responded with a 14-2 lead to take a 22-19 lead. The first half remained competitive and Miami led 36-32 at halftime. Miami scored the first five points of the second half to stretch the lead to nine.

A 10-2 Virginia Tech lead cut the Miami lead to 43-42. That set the tone for the rest of the second half. Miami would surge to gain control and Virginia Tech would rally to get close. In the final 10 minutes of the game, Virginia Tech was only within one possession once at 61-58 with 5:53 remaining.

In the last three minutes, the Miami lead was at least six. The Hurricanes made nine of their 10 free throws in the last 1:02 to put the game away. Miami had a 39-31 rebounding advantage and a 9-4 edge in fastbreak points. The Miami basketball team dominated on the boards in the second half with a 24-15 advantage.

Jim Larranaga will likely want to work on three-point defense after Virginia Tech made seven of its 16 attempts in the second half. Miami earned a critical quad-one win to help improve its seeding for the NCAA Tournament next month. The Hurricanes improve to 23-5 overall and 14-4 in the ACC.

Miami is in a virtual tie with Virginia atop the ACC standings. Virginia is 21-4 overall and 13-3 in the ACC. Miami is a near lock for a double-bye in the ACC Tournament in two weeks. The Hurricanes finish the regular season at home versus Florida State on Saturday and Pittsburgh on March 4.