UM, ‘playing on fumes,’ shocks Clemson 67-64 to advance to ACC tourney quarterfinals
The Miami Hurricanes continued their improbable run through the ACC tournament, reaching the quarterfinals after knocking off No. 5 seed Clemson 67-64 in a thriller Wednesday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Miami, which had lost 10 of 11 games late in the regular season and was ravaged by injuries, has now won three games in a row and will play No. 4 seed Georgia Tech on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2). UM is the first No. 13 seed ever to reach an ACC tournament quarterfinal.
“We’re playing on fumes, but we keep rallying,” said a jubilant coach Jim Larranaga, who won his 200th game with the Hurricanes. “Who knows what will happen, but we’re enjoying this right now. This group of players have been through so much adversity. … Our confidence is as high as it’s been all season.”
With the win, the Canes avenged a pair of regular-season losses to the Tigers.
UM, which outscored Clemson 40-18 in the paint, led by as many as nine points in the second half but had to dig deep to survive a tense final few minutes.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Wong led Miami with 20 points and seven rebounds. Wong scored eight of UM’s final 10 points, including a clutch pair of free throws to seal the win with 2.9 seconds to go.
Anthony Walker also had a big game with 15 points and hit back-to-back three-pointers during a 16-2 second-half run that also included two Deng Gak dunks. Kam McGusty added 14 points.
The Canes were ahead by four with less than two minutes to go, but the Tigers clawed back after a Clyde Trapp three-pointer and a turnover and foul by UM forward Anthony Walker that led to a pair of Al-Amir Davis three throws to close the gap to 65-64 with 37 seconds to go.
UM had only seven healthy players available. Wong played 39 minutes, McGusty played 38 and Walker played 34.
Asked how his players found energy to finish off two games in 24 hours, Larranaga credited injured bench players Rodney Miller, Earl Timberlake and Harlond Beverly, who cheered wildly for their teammates from the sidelines.
“We have to give some credit to the bench guys, who were cheering so loud and pumping up the guys,” Larranaga said. “The guys didn’t want to let their teammates down, so they played off that enthusiasm.”
Injured players Sam Waardenburg and Chris Lykes did not make the trip. Waardenburg is recovering from foot surgery and Lykes is rehabbing his ankle and had academic work and internship hours to complete.
Wong said the Hurricanes are extra motivated to play Georgia Tech after losing 87-60 to the Yellow Jackets at home a few weeks ago.
“We know what they did to us at home, and we have a lot to prove,” Wong said.
In the other games Wednesday, No. 8 seed Syracuse beat No. 9 North Carolina State 89-68 and No. 10 Duke defeated No. 7 Louisville 70-56. No. 6 North Carolina played No. 11 Notre Dame late.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 5:31 PM.