Jaydon Young scored a career-high 27 points and Virginia Tech used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to seize control of the game to defeat Miami 81-68 on Saturday night at the Watsco Center. Ben Burnham was also a big contributor for Miami with 14 points on 5-7 from the field and 4-5 on three-point attempts with six rebounds.
Miami held its biggest lead 48-42 with 15:14 left in the game before Virginia Tech began its run. The last lead for Miami was 48-45, 3 seconds later. Miami had a two-game home winning streak ended with the loss. A.J. Staton McCray led four Miami players in double-figures with 21 points.
Miami played without leading scorer Matthew Cleveland who was out with a leg injury. Lynn Kidd scored 14, Paul Djobet 12 and Brandon Johnson 10 points to support Stanton-McCray as the other Hurricanes in double figures. Miami shot 53.8 percent in the first half but only 38.5 percent in the second half.
As has been the case all season, Miami's defense was its downfall versus Virginia Tech. The Hokies shot 52.5 percent for the game and over 50.0 percent in both halves. Patrick Wessler, who was the other Hokie in double-figures other than Young and Burnham, had 10 points on 5-6 from the field.
Miami played well for most of the first half. After trailing 21-13, Miami rallied to tie the score at 38 with six seconds left in the first half on a three-point shot by Austin Swartz. Miami opened the second half on a 10-4 run. The Hurricanes then went scoreless for the next 4:54.
Miami faces the daunting task of hosting number three Duke on Tuesday. Duke is playing Illinois on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. News broke while Miami was playing Virginia Tech that Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas is expected to become the next Miami head coach.