Miami Basketball Squanders Second Half Lead Dropping Another Game at Home
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes fail to keep its home winning streak alive as they drop another game to the Virginia Tech 81-68.
The first 20 minutes for the Hurricanes looked great for the Canes. Without their star player Matthew Cleveland, (who was out with an ankle injury) the Hurricanes played great on both sides of the floor.
They also started the second half well and at one point with a six-point lead after a three-point shot hit by AJ Stanton McCray who led the Hurricanes in scoring with 21 points. Soon after the six-point lead, the Hurricanes collapsed.
It started with Brandon Johnson, who had played a great game until that point, forcing three straight shots and missing them all allowing a 9-0 run. Johnson got benched and the Hurricanes never led again.
“We obviously didn’t have a very good defensive game,” Miami coach Bill Courtney said following the game. “We tried everything. We couldn’t get stops when we needed to get them, especially in the second half. They had a run with the score three straight three-point shots after you took the lead and uh we just didn’t get the job done.”
Paul Djobet kept the Hurricanes in the game, scoring eight of his 12 points in the second half, but the Hokies’ knocked down seven 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes to secure the win.
The Hurricanes now prepare for No. 3 Duke at home in one of the biggest games of the season for the Canes.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at justice.sandle111@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@Justice_News5.
