Coral Gables, FL – Nigel Pack scored 17 points in a 5-minute span late in the second half, and No. 23 Miami stayed unbeaten at home this season by topping Virginia Tech 92-83 on Tuesday night.
Norchad Omier led Miami with 21 points, while Isaiah Wong had 18 and Jordan Miller finished with 14 for the Hurricanes (17-5, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).
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Hunter Cattoor and Sean Pedulla each scored 20 for Virginia Tech, while Grant Basile each added 17 and Justyn Mutts finished with 10 for the Hokies (13-9, 3-8).
The Hurricanes improved to 12-0 at home this season. The last time Miami lost on its home floor was Feb. 26 - to Virginia Tech, which hasn’t won a road game since.
And for much of Tuesday night, the Hokies looked like they’d leave Coral Gables with another victory. They led by five with 8:20 left, when Miami - led by Pack - hit its best stride of the night.
Pack was scoreless for the game’s first 32-1/2 minutes. But his 3-pointer with 7:35 left tied the game at 68 and started an absolute barrage from the sophomore guard from Indianapolis.
He made six consecutive shots in a span of 5:07, five of them 3-pointers, the last of them putting Miami up 84-76 with 2:28 remaining.
It seemed to inspire Miami on the defensive end as well. Virginia Tech shot 29 for 44 - a 66% clip - over the first 35 minutes, then missed its final seven shots from there as the Hurricanes did just enough to prevail. The last shot was a dunk try by Mutts that was blocked by Omier, and Wooga Poplar finished off the win with a dunk on the other end.
BIG PICTURE
Virginia Tech: The Hokies have now lost eight of their last 10, after an 11-1 start to the season. They’re 0-3 on the road against ranked teams. ... Virginia Tech was outscored 22-4 in fast-break points.
Miami: Former Hurricanes football players David Njoku (Cleveland) and Braxton Berrios (New York Jets) were at the game. ... Miami shot 58% and Omier had eight rebounds for the Hurricanes.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
It was a needed win for Miami, which has been slipping in the AP Top 25 – and now faces ACC leader Clemson in a game that the Hurricanes may need to stay in the rankings.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech: Host No. 6 Virginia on Saturday.
Miami: Visit No. 20 Clemson on Saturday.