Miami Edges Pittsburgh 67-63, Keeps NCAA Hopes Alive
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sheldon McClellan scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and Davon Reed tied a career-high with 19 as Miami kept its slim hopes of an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament alive with a 67-63 win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
The Hurricanes (19-11, 9-8 ACC) relied on Reed early and McClellan late. McClellan shook off a 1-for-7 start to hit a pair of big jump shots after the Panthers twice cut Miami's lead to a basket in the final minutes.
Michael Young led Pitt with 22 points and seven rebounds and Jamel Artis scored 14 but missed a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left that would have tied the game. Pitt (19-12, 8-9) has lost two straight and will likely need to make a deep run in next week's ACC tournament to have any hopes of going to the NCAAs for the 11th time in coach Jamie Dixon's 12 seasons.
The Hurricanes hardly looked like a team on its last legs, even with second-leading scorer Angel Rodriguez sitting on the bench in a gray sweatsuit while recovering from a wrist injury suffered against Florida State on Feb. 25.
Reed and McClellan did their best to pick up the slack. Slicing to the lane or pulling up from outside, Reed was brilliant at times. He hit his first seven shots as the Panthers struggled to stay in front of him. Eventually McClellan joined him.
The Panthers responded with their usual mix of Young and Artis but not much else. Pitt overcame an early seven-point deficit to take a 33-29 lead at the break. The Panthers were 12-0 when leading at halftime but struggled to generate much offense outside of whatever Young could get around the basket.
The Hurricanes went ahead for good on a tip-in by Tonye Jekiri with 6:59 to go and Pitt simply could not catch up.
Artis made a 3-pointer to pull Pitt within 57-56 with 2:40 to play but McClellan responded with a 3-pointer from right in front of the Miami bench. Young dropped in a hook shot to make it 60-58 but McClellan hit a long two-pointer from the left corner and Pitt would get no closer.
The victory gave Miami a dash of life in its bid to return to the NCAA tournament for the second time under coach Jim Larranaga in what was a de facto elimination game for at-large consideration.
Any late-season momentum the two schools had been trying to build evaporated last weekend. Pitt let an eight-point second-half lead slip away in an upset loss at Wake Forest on Sunday and the Hurricanes couldn't keep up with No. 19 North Carolina. Wiggle room gone, the fifth meeting of the former Big East rivals this millennium made up for in meaning what it lacked in energy.
Playing on Senior Night, the Panthers looked flat at times. Pitt went through several dry spells offensively and couldn't guard McClellan when it mattered.
TIP-INS
Miami: The Hurricanes outrebounded Pitt 33-30 and turned it over just seven times. ... Jekiri finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. ... The Hurricanes, the ACC's best free-throw shooting team, went 15 of 18 at the line.
Pitt: The seniors went out meekly in their final home game. Cam Wright had 11 points, five assists and three rebounds. Forward Aron Phillips-Nwankwo had two rebounds. Center Derrick Randall made his fifth start of the season, was whistled for a foul 19 seconds into the game and went scoreless in two minutes.
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