The No. 3 Virginia men’s basketball team survived its first scare of the season in its ACC opener against the Miami Hurricanes (10-4, 0-1 ACC). Struggling at the line came back to haunt the Cavaliers, who blew an 18 point halftime lead and were forced to play two overtimes to overcome the Hurricanes.
Virginia (13-0, 1-0 ACC) shot under 70 percent from the line, allowing Miami to claw its way back into the game. Conversely, Hurricane junior point guard Angel Rodriguez made 10 of his 12 attempts, including three with under a minute to play to push the game into overtime.
The Cavaliers played catch up the entire first overtime, with Miami hanging on to a three-point lead for the majority of the five-minute frame. Rodriguez made two free throws to push the lead to four before Cavalier junior guard Justin Anderson was fouled himself on a three-point attempt. This costly foul for the Hurricanes marked a huge change in momentum in Virginia's favor, as Anderson nailed a three on their next possession to tie the game.
Miami came out strong in the second overtime, hitting a three on its first possession. Virginia dug in after that though, led by a phenomenal performance by sophomore point guard London Perrantes. The Los Angeles native finished the game with 26 points — including an impressive 11-12 performance from the charity stripe and a team leading 5-9 from behind the three point line.
Perrantes played a flawless five minutes in the second overtime, consistently making the right pass and nailing all but one his free throws to secure the Cavalier victory. His play quickly put Virginia in the lead, and allowed it to hang on for a gritty 89-80 victory.
The Cavaliers are back in action Wednesday when North Carolina State comes to Charlottesville. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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