Field Level Media
Mar 3, 2018
Freshman guard Chris Lykes hit the first of a one-and-one free throw with 3.0 seconds left to give Miami a 69-68 victory over Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon in Coral Gables.
The Hurricanes (22-8, 11-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) struggled in the first half but shot 59.1in the second to stretch their winning streak to four games.
The Hokies (21-10, 10-8 ACC) got a game-high 18 points from guard Justin Robinson while guard Dejan Vasiljevic led Miami with 16. Lykes finished with 15 for Miami.
After shooting under 40 percent from the field in the first half, the Hurricanes came out of the break and hit their first five attempts of the second to take their first lead since the first minute of the game on forward Dewan Huell's layup for a 43-42 lead less than three minutes into the period.
The Hurricanes went on to build a 64-55 advantage on Vasiljevic's 3-pointer with 8:24 left in the game, but the Hokies came right back with seven consecutive points before Huell ended their run with two free throws at the 4:43 mark.
The Hokies came back to tie it at 66-66 on guard-forward Chris Clarke's tip-in at the 2:42 mark. They had a chance to take the lead late but guard Justin Bibbs missed a jumper from the lane with 15 seconds left and the score tied at 68. Miami got possession when the rebound went out of bounds.
The Hokies took advantage of Miami's cold start to take an early 10-2 lead on their way to a 39-32 cushion at the halftime break.
The Hurricanes missed their first five shots before cutting their deficit down to 17-16 just past the midpoint of the first half, but the Hokies caught fire and jumped out to their first double-digit lead at 28-18 and by as many as 12 points, 37-25, with 2:39 left in the period before Miami finished the period on a 7-2 spurt.
--Field Level Media