It looks like the ACC Tournament Championship still has to go through Miami, at least for one more game.
In a contest that featured enough zone defense to make Jim Boeheim blush, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies, 57-53. Both teams combined to shoot 44 three-point shots, landing just 15 of them (Miami: 7-25, Va Tech: 8-19).
Jarell Eddie got the Hokies rolling early, tossing in three long-distance bombs eight minutes into the game, but once Miami started to pay attention, they were able to hold the Hokie senior to just 2-8 the rest of the way.
The Canes, who were already 0-2 against the Hokies this season, were finally able to wrestle the lead away midway through the second half, but then went ice cold, going over six minutes without a field goal. Tech was able to claw their way back in and had numerous opportunities to take the lead.
- Down one with 1:13, Devin Wilson launches a contested three-point shot with the shot clock expiring.
- Still down one, after a stupid Miami turnover and even stupider foul, 37% free throw shooter, Joey van Zegeren, missed both his free throw attempts.
- Down two with six seconds on the clock, Devin Wilson misses his second free throw attempt on purpose and Jarell Eddie is somehow able to pull it down from behind the basket. Instead of kicking it back out to numerous open teammates, Eddie decides to take it up (from behind the rim) against four defenders surrounding him. Missed shot. Ball game.
Miami’s Rion Brown led all Hurricane scorers with 15, but he needed 13 shots (10 of which were three-point attempts) to do it. On the year he finished 11-44 from the floor in three games against the Hokies.
To pick up the slack, Davon Reed was lights out. The multidimensional wing man hit four of seven, the first coming midway through the first half with the Canes trailing 15-7. Meanwhile, Erick Swoops sudden emergence from obscurity continued in round one of the ACC Tournament. He’s averaged nearly 14 per game over his last five games, shooting 62% from the floor.
Against the Hokies, he was a ball of energy off the bench, throwing down two Sportscenter worthy dunks right before the half. He finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, six of which were of the offensive nature.
