Tre Donaldson scores final 15 Miami points to escape Virginia Tech
Tre Donaldson scored a career-high 32 points as the host Miami Hurricanes won their fourth straight game, defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies 67-66 in an ACC matchup on Tuesday night.
Donaldson scored Miami's final 15 points, including a free throw with 12.5 seconds left that gave the Hurricanes that 67-66 lead.
However, Donaldson had his second free throw go in and out, giving the Hokies a chance for a win. After two Miami fouls -- the Hurricanes were not over the limit -- the Hokies called timeout with 3.8 seconds remaining.
On the final possession of the game, Virginia Tech's Ben Hammond drove to the right side, with Donaldson defending. Hammond took a bump, but there was no call, and he missed a short bank shot to end the game.
Miami (21-5, 10-3 ACC) improved to 14-2 at home. The Hurricanes have already won 14 more games than last season -- the biggest improvement in the nation.
Besides Donaldson, the Hurricanes got 10 points from Dante Allen. Malik Reneau, Miami's leading scorer, was held to nine points in 24 minutes. He missed much of the second half while dealing with an unspecified injury.
Miami also got nine points from Shelton Henderson and four points and a game-high nine rebounds from Ernest Udeh Jr.
Virginia Tech (17-10, 6-8) has lost five of its past seven games. Amani Hansberry led the Hokies with 16 points, including several put-backs. Jailen Bedford had 12 points, and Hammond had 10. Toibu Lawal added eight points.
Miami, thanks to a pair of put-backs and a steal that led to a 3-point play, started the game with a 7-0 lead. Virginia Tech then tied the score 12-12 after a 7-0 run of its own.
The Hokies took their first lead at 15-14 and then 18-14 on two 3-pointers by Jaden Schutt.
By halftime, Virginia Tech led 34-31 led by a 16-1 edge in bench points.
With 10:28 left in the second half, Miami tied the score 50-50 on a drive by Tru Washington.
After the Hokies surged ahead with five straight points, Miami caught them again at 59-59 on a possession that included two offensive rebounds and a Donaldson drive.
The Hokies then went up 65-61 on a pair of Lawal buckets -- a drive and then a fast-break dunk.
But Miami rode Donaldson, who scored 24 of its 36 second-half points.
For the game, Miami had a 42-34 edge on paint points and a 13-7 advantage on offensive rebounds.