Nijel Pack, who was scoreless in the first half, hit five 3-pointers after intermission, leading No. 23 Miami to a 92-83 win over Virginia Tech on Tuesday night in Coral Gables, Fla.
Pack finished with 17 points for the Hurricanes (17-5, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), hitting 5 of 7 attempts from 3-point range. Pack had 17 of Miami’s 19 points in a stretch of 5:07 in the second half.
Norchad Omier led Miami with 21 points and eight rebounds. Isaiah Wong had 18 points, including 16 in the first half, and grabbed five steals and Jordan Miller added 14 points and five assists.
The Hurricanes, who started the season 13-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC, are 4-4 in their past eight games, alternating wins and losses over the past month.
Virginia Tech (13-9, 3-8) was led by Sean Pedulla and Hunter Cattoor, who each had 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Grant Basile, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, had 17 points and seven rebounds, but he missed three layups. Justyn Mutts was held to 10 points, all in the second half.
The Hokies were without starting guard Darius Maddox, who missed his second straight game due to a family emergency.
Still, Virginia Tech led 16-8 early before Miami went on a 15-2 run, fueled by its defense. Miami got numerous deflections and forced four turnovers during that span.
By halftime, Miami led 45-44, thanks in large part to Wong’s 16 points and three steals.
Pedulla was similarly hot for Virginia Tech, scoring 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting before the break, including 2-of-3 success from deep. The Hokies shot 63 percent from the floor in the first half. Miami shot 60 percent.
Omier had eight points in the first half on 4-for-4 shooting, but he sat for the final 5:45 after he was charged with his second foul.
Then, 10 seconds into the second half, Omier was whistled for his third foul, but coach Jim Larranaga left him in the game.
The game was close until Pack exploded in the second half.
Both teams shot well throughout. For the game, Miami hit 58.3 percent of its shots, including 8 of 19 (42.1 percent) 3-point attempts. The Hokies made 56.9 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 7 of 17 (41.2 percent) from deep. Miami outrebounded Virginia Tech 27-21.
–Field Level Media
