Miami beats Virginia Tech on half-court game winner by Charlie Moore
Charlie Moore put up a prayer at the buzzer Wednesday night, and it was answered.
Moore sunk a half-court game winning shot at the buzzer, delivering a 78-75 road victory for Miami (FL) over Virginia Tech. The win kept the Canes atop the ACC standings at 7-2 (15-5 overall).
With two minutes left to play, Miami trailed Virginia Tech by five. Jordan Miller cut the deficit to three seconds later with a layup, then on the next possession blocked a shot to get the ball back. Isaiah Wong missed a layup but was then fouled behind the arc, and hit all three free throws to tie it up.
Virginia Tech had the chance to take the lead, but missed a three to give it back to Miami. Kameron McGusty turned it over for the Canes, giving the Hokies another chance, but another missed triple resulted in Miami taking over with 1.8 seconds left on the clock.
After a timeout, Miller inbounded the ball to a streaking Moore. He took one dribble, pulled up in motion and chucked up a shot. He never stopped moving as the ball was in the air, drifting toward his bench as it soared through the net to win it at the buzzer.
It was a key bounce-back win for Miami, who had lost two of its last three games (both to Florida State). Those losses disrupted a nine-game winning streak and 5-0 start to conference play, but the Hurricanes remain tops in the ACC after beating the Hokies, who sit in second-to-last place at 2-7.
Moore finished with 13 points, six assists and five steals. McGusty led all scorers with 19 while adding seven boards and four assists, and Miller added 18 points and seven rebounds. Justyn Mutts led Virginia Tech with nine points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Keve Aluma added 14 points and three blocks.
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