Tied at 50-50, Shane Larkin hit a wide-open Reggie Johnson for a layup with six seconds left, and Durand Scott stole the ensuing inbounds pass and sealed the deal with two free throws to lift #2 Miami to a 54-50 win over unranked Virginia Tuesday night.
The Hurricanes (22-3, 13-0 ACC) led most of the way, but the Cavs (18-8, 8-5 ACC) made it a game with clutch shots from long range. Back-to-back threes by Paul Jesperson and Justin Anderson pulled UVa. to within 40-39 with 6:42 to go, and a pair of threes by Joe Harris and Evan Nolte tied the game at 46-46 and again at 50-50 in the final minute.
The shooting from long range enabled Virginia to hang close despite shooting just 38.5 percent from the floor overall, making only five of its eight free-throw attempts and allowing Miami to shoot 46.8 percent for the game.
Harris led all scorers with 16 points. Larkin scored 11 to lead Miami, which has now won 14 games in a row.
Game Notes
Mitchell kills Cavs: Akil Mitchell had a horrible night both in the box score and on the floor. The junior power forward was 3-for-10 from the floor and played timidly in the post after having a trio of shots blocked in an early first-half sequence by Julian Gamble. Then it was Mitchell who lost his man in the final sequence allowing Larkin to hit Johnson for the game-winning bunny.
Bubble Watch: Before the game, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi had Virginia as one of his last four teams in the NCAA Tourney field. A close loss on the home court of the #2 team in the country won’t necessarily help or hurt there. The Cavs had come into the game ranked 77th in the latest RPI. Expect that to improve a bit just because of the boost to strength of schedule that playing the team ranked second in the RPI will bring.
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