National Basketball Association
Miami - Florida 54, Georgia Tech 36
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 8, 2012
Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Officials:
# Ray Natalli, # Tim Nestor, # Ramie Styons
Attendance:
19520
By SportsDirect Inc.
Miami 54, Georgia Tech 36: Freshman Shane Larkin had 12 points, and the Hurricanes kept their NCAA tournament hopes alive by scoring 18 straight points in the second half against the short-handed Yellow Jackets in the first round of the ACC tournament.
Durand Scott scored 11 points and Rion Brown added 10 for the sixth-seeded Hurricanes (19-11), who advance to face No. 3 seed Florida State on Friday night in the quarterfinals at Atlanta.
Miami knocked off then-No. 15 Florida State at home two weeks ago, but it will need a better effort to upset the Seminoles again. The Hurricanes sleepwalked through the first 20-plus minutes before pulling away to beat the 11th-seeded Yellow Jackets (11-20) for the eighth time in 10 tries.
Georgia Tech led 20-19 at halftime and 27-24 six minutes into the second half. But Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Larkin had a pair of breakaway layups during the 18-0 spurt, which gave Miami a 42-27 lead with 8:39 to play.
Mfon Udofia scored 13 points for the Yellow Jackets, who committed 20 turnovers and were held to their lowest point total of the season. Georgia Tech played a six straight game without suspended leading scorer and rebounder, Glen Rice Jr.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Hurricanes had just one assist in the first half. … Larkin’s father, Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin, was in attendance. … The 39 combined points tied the mark for the lowest-scoring first half in an ACC game this season.
Top Game Performances
Georgia Tech |
|
Miami - Florida |
Mfon Udofia 13 |
Scoring |
Shane Larkin 12 |
Daniel Miller 2 |
Assists |
Shane Larkin 3 |
Daniel Miller 10 |
Rebounds |
Reggie Johnson 9 |
Brandon Reed 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Shane Larkin 6 |
Nick Foreman 1 |
Steals |
Kenny Kadji 3 |
Daniel Miller 5 |
Blocks |
Kenny Kadji 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Georgia Tech
|
36 |
31.8 |
3-16 |
5-9 |
6 |
28 |
5 |
3 |
20 |
Miami - Florida
|
54 |
33.3 |
3-18 |
15-19 |
5 |
32 |
2 |
11 |
11 |