Canes Stay Perfect In ACC Play, Beat Va.Tech 73-64

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Shane Larkin scored 25 points and No. 14 Miami took command with a 13-2 second-half run Wednesday night, beating Virginia Tech 73-64 for its eighth consecutive victory.

Kenny Kadji added 18 points and Trey McKinney-Jones had 12 for the Hurricanes (16-3, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed by 12 in the first half before getting a 22-6 burst spanning halftime.

National scoring leader Erick Green led the Hokies (11-9, 2-5) with 30 points and Jarell Eddie had 14, but Virginia Tech's other scorers struggled after a fast start. The loss was the seventh in the last nine games for Virginia Tech.

Trailing by 12, however, Larkin led Miami back into it with 11 points in the big run spanning the halves, and the Hurricanes took a 38-34 lead with 16:43 left. The Hokies seemed on the brink of getting run out of their own building, but Green hit three 3-pointers in a span of under 2 minutes and Virginia Tech led again, 43-41.

Just as Cassell Coliseum whipped into a roaring frenzy, McKinney-Jones hit a long 3-pointer, and Larkin and Rion Brown followed with 3s after a bucket by Cadarian Raines for the Hokies. Two free throws by McKinney-Jones and a dunk by Kadji capped the 13-2 run and the Hokies were again playing catch-up.

They got within 60-53 with two minutes left, but Larkin calmly dribbled the clock down then swished a long 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:47 to play — his fifth 3 of the night. He finished 9-for-14 with three steals, three assists and two blocks.

Green and Brown each scored eight points during a 22-8 spurt that gave the Hokies a 28-16 lead with 5:57 left in the half, but a 3-pointer by Eddie and a free throw by Green was all Virginia Tech could manage the rest of the half.

Miami closed the first half with a 13-4 burst, including nine points from Larkin, to get within 32-29.

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