Junior guard Davon Reed scored 21 points and made five three-pointers, as No. 12 Miami defeated No. 3 Virginia 64-61 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
Monday night’s loss frustrates the Cavaliers (21-6, 10-5 ACC) quest for a third-straight ACC regular-season championship, as Virginia falls out of a second-place tie with the Hurricanes (22-5, 11-4 ACC) and No. 11 Louisville and two games behind conference-leading and No. 7 North Carolina.
Senior guard Malcolm Brogdon scored a game-high 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting. The Atlanta, Ga. native scored nearly half of Virginia’s points in the second half and went eight-of-nine after the intermission.
However, the ACC Player of the Year candidate was left wanting for backup. No other Cavalier reached double digits in scoring, and Brogdon’s teammates shot a collective 32.5 percent from the field.
The Hurricanes and Cavaliers started slowly on offense, but Miami’s tenacity on the glass gave the home team an advantage in the first half. Led by nine first-half boards by junior forward Kamari Murphy, the Hurricanes outrebounded Virginia 19-17 in the opening half and scored nine second-chance points.
Senior guard Sheldon McClellan’s buzzer-beating runner from deep gave Miami a 35-30 halftime advantage.
Virginia came out of halftime break lethargic and faced a 39-29 deficit at the 17:22 mark. The Cavaliers countered with a 19-8 run, but as was the story of the second half, the Hurricanes again pulled away and Virginia’s 48-47 advantage at 9:36 would be its last.
Despite a favorable matchup, the Cavaliers’ frontcourt struggled Monday. Senior forward Anthony Gill scored only six points on three-of-nine shooting, but pull down ten rebounds. Senior center Mike Tobey scored four points and missed several point-blank layups in a 2-5 performance.
In their last meeting Jan. 12, Gill and Tobey combined for 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting.
Monday, the Hurricanes made 10 of their 19 attempts from deep. Earlier in the season at John Paul Jones Arena, Miami was 6-of-22 from long range.
Sophomore forward Isaiah Wilkins left the game late in the second half after taking a knee to the back of his head. He did not return. Senior forward Evan Nolte was inactive with a toe injury.
Virginia will look to regroup for a Saturday evening showdown with North Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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