Johnson leads Miami past Virginia Tech
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Reggie Johnson scored 15 points as Miami defeated Virginia Tech 65-49 Thursday night to follow up Sunday's win over No. 7 Duke.
The Hurricanes (15-7, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) built an eight-point halftime lead and outscored Virginia Tech 10-4 in the first 4:22 of the second half. Johnson's layup with 15:38 remaining put the Hurricanes ahead, 40-26.
The Hokies (13-11, 2-7) rallied with an 8-0 run. Dorian Finney-Smith's layup off a Miami turnover with 7:58 remaining ended the run and put Virginia Tech within 47-42.
Trey McKinney Jones and Shane Larkin hit consecutive 3-pointers and the Hurricanes re-established a double-digit lead at 53-42 with 6:34 left.
Larkin scored 14 points and Kenny Kadji finished with 11 points for Miami, which won its fifth straight.
Erick Green led Virginia Tech with 17 points and increased his double-digit scoring streak to 25 consecutive games.
The Hurricanes ran off 10 unanswered points during a 3:34 span midway through the first half. DeQuan Jones' baseline jumper with 8:38 remaining capped the run and gave Miami a 20-8 lead.
Virginia Tech was held scoreless for a 6:21 stretch until Finney Smith's put-back basket with 6:06 left made it 20-10. The Hokies had eight turnovers and missed five shots during their scoring drought.
Johnson's 3-pointer with 2:48 remaining gave the Hurricanes their largest lead of the half at 28-12.
The Hokies responded with a 10-0 run capped by Dorenzo Hudson's 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining. Rion Brown's dunk off a missed shot with 3 seconds left gave the Hurricanes a 30-22 lead at halftime.