Miami Gets 'Big' Road Win, 75-71 Over Virginia Tech
Miami wins its first road contest of the 2023-24 season inside of Cassell Coliseum, with a 75-71 victory over Virginia Tech.
It was not easy. The Hokies were the better team until the latter stages of the first half. Down 30-21 with 1:48 remaining before the half, Miami's Wooga Poplar drilled his first bucket of the game, a 3-pointer, that closed the gap to 30-24.
Miami would add another five points and only trail 30-29 heading into the halftime break. The second half was a back-and-forth affair that Miami simply won with better shooting. That's despite an incredible evening from Virginia Tech guard Sean Pedulla. He went 13 of 23 from the floor and scored 33 points. That should have been enough for VT, but it was not.
It came down to the final three minutes of play. That's where Miami made the big plays. That includes a straight-on 3-point make, off the backboard, from Miami freshman Kyshawn George. That big bucket provided Miami with a 69-66 lead.
Pedulla then drove the hoop and knocked in a tough layup. That closed the gap to 69-68, but still not enough to outdo the Canes. Right back, Nijel Pack hit an incredibly difficult 12-foot floater in the lane. Nothing but net! Pack finished with 19 points for the Canes.
Miami was up 71-68. After a referee's meeting about an out-of-bounds call, Miami gained possession and capitalized. Virginia Tech decided to full-court press.
Bad idea.
Miami attacked and Norchad Omier converted a layup to make it 73-68 with 44.5 seconds to play. Despite Omier missing the free throw to convert a 3-point-play, his basket made it really hard for the Hokies to make a comeback.
Even with a great game overall, Pedulla was last to touch the ball and it went out of bounds. From there, Miami survived some missed free throws and held off Virginia Tech with tough defense and grit.
For the Canes, Matthew Cleveland led them with 21 points. Omier had 14, Poplar 11, George 6, and Bensley Joseph scored 4.
2023-24 Miami Hurricanes Men's Basketball Schedule
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