Center Reggie Johnson made his season debut to give the Miami Hurricanes a lift, and they overcame the heroics of freshman Omari Grier to beat Florida Atlantic in double overtime on Saturday 93-90.
Johnson, back after undergoing right knee surgery in June, came off the bench and had 15 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and five assists.
Grier, making his first start, scored a season-high 27 points. He sank a 3-pointer for the final points in regulation, and another 3 to force the second overtime.
Miami (6-4) shot 62 percent, including 14 for 20 from 3-point range. Florida Atlantic (4-7) went 15 for 29 on 3-pointers.
The Hurricanes' Kenny Kadji scored 21 points and was chosen as the game's most valuable player in the Orange Bowl Classic game. He went 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
Durand Scott added 18 points, and reserve Rion Brown scored 15 in 27 minutes.
Raymond Taylor had 20 points and nine assists for Florida Atlantic. Leading scorer Greg Gantt sat out because of a sprained left ankle.
The narrow defeat was the second in a row for the Owls against an opponent from a major conference. They led at Mississippi State with less than 10 minutes left Tuesday before losing.
Florida Atlantic fell to 1-21 against Miami.
Malcolm Grant's 3-pointer with 3:20 left in the game put the Hurricanes ahead to stay, 87-84. Grant then fed Scott for a layup, and Kadji and Scott each made two free throws in the final 68 seconds.
Even so, the Owls had a chance to send the game to a third OT, but Taylor missed a 25-footer with one second left.
Florida Atlantic trailed 71-65 before sinking three baskets in the final 40 seconds of the second half to force overtime. Grier's 3-pointer with less than 2 seconds left made it 72-all.
Grier sank another 3-pointer to tie the game again at 82 with 33 seconds left in the first overtime. He finished 7 of 12 from behind the arc.
Scott made a pair of 3-pointers to help the Hurricanes take a 10-2 lead, and their biggest margin was 25-15. Grier hit consecutive 3-pointers and Taylor hit a driving layup during an 8-0 run that gave the Owls their largest lead at 48-43.
