This post is part of The Arena Pulse's Player of the Night feature.
Each morning throughout the 2011-12 season, The Arena Pulse will select and name its "Player of the Night" from the previous evening's action.
Don't look now, but with a few weeks remaining in the regular season, Miami (FL) may be playing their way into the bubble discussion.
Believe it or not, Duke has now dropped two games at Cameron Indoor this season, as the Hurricanes got their first win in Durham in school history on Sunday afternoon.
Miami (FL) blew a 14-point halftime lead, but the Hurricanes survived in overtime thanks in large part to a huge performance from their big man down low.
The winner of The Arena Pulse's Player of the Night (2/5):
Name: Reggie Johnson
School: Miami (FL)
Class: Junior
Position: Center
Stat Line: 27 points, 12 rebounds, 1 steal
A knee injury this past off season forced Miami forward Reggie Johnson to miss the first nine games of this season.
Healthy and back on the court, the Hurricanes are 9-3 with Johnson anchoring the squad down low. In fact, Sunday's victory on the road at Duke marked the team's fourth consecutive victory overall.
Their first-ever win at Cameron Indoor likely has this Miami group thinking that their chances at the Big Dance are not out of the water. In turn, they may just now be on the rise.
Johnson, a junior forward, made sure of that last night, finishing the contest with 27 points and 12 rebounds, both season-highs.
Johnson dominated the paint, as the Blue Devils' inside threats of both Mason and Miles Plumlee combined for just eight points in the loss.
Miami held on to win the contest by a final score of 78-74. Johnson was 11-of-17 from the field in the victory, notching his first double-double of the season.
The Hurricanes (14-7, 5-3) return home on Thursday night as Virginia Tech (13-10, 2-6) pays a visit to the Bank United Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST.
*Photo: Reggie Johnson *Credit: sun-sentinel.com
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Original Story:
http://www.thearenapulse.com/2012/02/...
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February 06, 2012
