With the game on the line, the Miami Hurricanes relied on Jack McClinton to propel the Canes to a victory.
Once again McClinton did not disappoint, knocking down a go ahead three-pointer in the last minutes.
The Hurricanes secured their second straight Atlantic Coast Conference road win after defeating Georgia Tech, 64-63.
“Obviously it was a hard fought ballgame,” Head Coach Frank Haith said. “I want to give our kids a lot of credit for winning. They really stuck in there and never got down. Huge win for us.”
With the game tied at 60-60, senior Anthony King found a wide-open McClinton in the corner to hit a three-pointer with 45 seconds remaining. After McClinton split a pair of free throws, Georgia Tech couldn’t get a clear three-point shot off until Matt Causey made one with 1.6 seconds left, cutting to lead to 64-63. Miami (17-7, 4-6 ACC) held steadfast to get the win and completed a season sweep of Georgia Tech (11-13, 4-6 ACC).
McClinton finished with 23 points, making 6-of-14 from beyond the three-point arc. McClinton made five of his six three-point attempts in the second half.
“[McClinton] was outstanding,” Haith said. “We want to get him the ball, but we don’t want him to rush shots. I thought that was a key that he got into a rhythm in the second half.”
But nothing came easy. Throughout the entire game, both offenses were careless. Miami and Georgia Tech combined for 40 turnovers and 43 fouls.
“Both teams had active hands. I thought we turned them over,” Haith said. “But we were sloppy with some passes. I thought we got in a little rhythm going in the second half.”
Guard Lance Hurdle tied the game at 54-54 but Georgia Tech’s Anthony Morrow responded with a three-pointer. McClinton answered back with his own three-pointer. Morrow struck back, knocking down another three-pointer to give the edge back to the Yellow Jackets. The Hurricanes pulled even again at 60-60 on King’s three-point play with 1:27 left.
“Every time they made a play, we made a play right back at them,” Haith said.
With an important stretch of games approaching for Miami, Haith acknowledged how crucial road victories are in the ACC.
“We’ve struggled a bit to win two games back-to-back on the road,” Haith said. “This was a big win for us.”
Lelan LeDoux may be contacted at l.ledoux@umiami.edu.
Editor’s note:The headline in the online version of this story has been corrected to reflect that this game was the second consecutive ACC win, not the second overall win.