Hurricanes men’s basketball ends two-game losing streak with 67-53 win over Boston College

Senior center Tonye Jekiri (No. 23) makes an uncontested layup during last season's game against UNC Chapel Hill. The Canes____ to Boston College Wednesday evening in Massachusetts. Matthew Trabold // Contributing Photographer

The Hurricanes ended their two-game road skid with a 67-53 win over Boston College in Massachusetts on Wednesday night. The Canes fell from No. 8 to No. 15 in the rankings after consecutive losses to Virginia and Clemson, but a strong second-half performance gave Miami its first win in nearly two weeks. The Canes are now 9-0 against Boston College under Head Coach Jim Larrañaga and have won the last 11 contests overall against the Eagles.

The Canes (14-3, 3-2) got off to a solid start in the first half, going 5-of-8 from the field to take an 11-7 lead seven minutes into the game. The team missed its next six shots but still held a four-point lead with 10:24 to go thanks to four turnovers by the Eagles. Boston College (7-11, 0-5) turned the ball over 12 times in the first half alone.

The Eagles went on a 10-1 run in a little over three minutes to take a 24-21 lead with 4:49 left in the half. Miami finished a disjointed half up 29-28. Redshirt senior guard Sheldon McClellan led the Canes with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting. The Canes missed all four of their three-point attempts and shot 12-of-30 (40 percent) overall on field goals while the Eagles went 13-of-25 (52 percent) from the field.

Miami opened the second half with a 16-7 run to take a 45-35 lead with 14:15 remaining. Redshirt senior guard Angel Rodriguez went scoreless in the first half, but he scored eight points in the stretch to help the Canes go up by double digits.

The Canes maintained their advantage for the rest of the night. A 6-0 scoring run by Boston College cut Miami’s lead to 52-49 with 7:03 remaining, but the Canes responded with a 14-4 run to put the Eagles away. Rodriguez again played a pivotal role in the streak, scoring two tough layups to put Miami ahead by 13 with less than a minute to play.

Miami’s starting point guard finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 (44 percent) shooting. McClellan, Miami’s leading scorer coming into the game, led the Canes with 19 points on 7-of-14 (50 percent) shooting.

The Hurricanes next face Wake Forest at 12 p.m. on Saturday at the BankUnited Center.