CORAL GABLES — The Miami Hurricanes survived a 10-minute shooting drought thanks to a stellar second-half performance by guard Bensley Joseph.
The junior guard scored 14 second-half points to lead Miami (15-7, 6-5 ACC) to an 82-74 comeback win over Virginia Tech (13-9, 5-6 ACC) at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables on Saturday afternoon. It is Miami’s fourth consecutive win over Virginia Tech.
“Shout out to my teammates, just instilling confidence in me to just come in and try to make an impact on the team,” Joseph said. “Those guys know that my best work is that defense, so on offense, shots were just falling. They were making the right plays, finding me, and they just told me to keep being aggressive.”
The Hurricanes battled back and made it a one-possession game, trading the lead with the Hokies in the game’s final minutes. A Kyshawn George and-1 put Miami up by four points with 1:55 left, and the Hurricanes never surrendered the lead again.
The Hurricanes held the lead early in the game, shooting 70 percent during the under-12-minute media timeout. But then UM went ice-cold from the field. Miami did not make a field goal for the final 8:21 of the first half. In that time, the Hokies went on a 16-3 run. Virginia Tech held the lead for more than half of the game.
“I thought the first five minutes, we played well,” coach Jim Larrañaga said. “We were 7 of 10 from the field and playing pretty good in a close game. And then we went 2 for 16 and played awful for about 10 minutes.”
Miami did not get another basket from the field until 2:25 into the second half. By that point, UM trailed 40-32. The Hurricanes shot 45 percent from the field Saturday and 44 percent from three-point range.
The Hurricanes got some momentum in the second half, pushing back ahead of the Hokies on a Bensley Joseph three-pointer with 6:47 left. Joseph’s 14 second-half points helped lead Miami to its comeback win.
UM turned the ball over nine times in the first half but allowed only two turnovers in the second half.
“The players didn’t dribble too much (in the second half),” Larrañaga said. “There’s got to be more to it than that? No. Very simple.”
Five Miami players notched double-digit points. Forward Norchad Omier and George tied for the team lead with 16 points, while Matthew Cleveland had 15 and Joseph and guard Nijel Pack had 14 each. Cleveland, in his first game back from a two-game injury absence, notched a double-double with 13 rebounds.
“We missed that,” Larrañaga said. “When we don’t have a complete roster, it’s very, very difficult for us because our bench has not been able to produce the points and rebounds that the starters produce.”
The Hurricanes have been battling nagging injuries all season, but they started their best five Saturday. Cleveland returned to the lineup after missing two games with a hip injury. But the injury bug made a quick appearance early in the game. About two minutes in, guard Wooga Poplar, who had been recovering from a sprained ankle, hobbled off the court. Luckily for UM, he returned quickly.
Miami hopes that a healthier lineup will lead to more consistent play in a grueling February schedule. The Hurricanes go on the road to face Virginia on Monday before hosting North Carolina next weekend.
“We know all season we’ve had ups and downs, but in this particular month, we know that we need to play our best and come together fully,” Joseph said. “We just try to keep doing that.”
