Hokies End Skid, Beat Canes 52-45
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - C.J. Barksdale scored 12 points and Devin Wilson got all 12 of his in the final 3:37 as Virginia Tech ended a 10-game losing streak with a 52-45 victory against Miami, the Hokies' second this season.
Wilson, who also had nine assists, also came up with a huge rebound for the Hokies (9-15, 2-10 Atlantic Coast Conference), who hadn't won since beating Maryland-Eastern Shore on New Year's Eve. It came with about 30 seconds left and the Hokies ahead 50-45 off a missed 3-point try by Miami's Rion Brown.
Miami (12-13, 3-9) got 13 points from Garrius Adams and Brown added 12 and 10 rebounds, but the Hurricanes made just 15 of 58 shots from the field (25.9 percent) and missed eight of their first 10 free throws before finishing 8-for-17 at the line.
The Hokies led almost throughout, never letting Miami closer than three in the second half. That came on Adams' three-point play with 5:05 left, but Hokies scoring leader Jarell Eddie followed a with a 3-pointer, one of only two baskets in the game for him, and Wilson took over in the closing minutes.
Miami made only 5 of 27 shots in the first, then missed 10 of its first 11 shots in the second half. But when Erik Swoope scored on a drive with 10:45 to play, it started a string of four consecutive makes for the Hurricanes, the last a 3-pointer by Brown that pulled them within 32-27 with 8:49 left.
Barksdale, questionable because of a strained groin, scored seven points in an early 14-1 burst for the Hokies as Miami missed 11 straight shot and went nearly eight minutes without a point.
The run put Virginia Tech ahead 17-5, but the Hokies promptly went stone cold and went more than eight minutes without a point themselves, but Miami managed only seven points in that span. When Trevor Thompson scored on a put-back for the Hokies with 55 seconds left, it was the first basket for the home team in its last nine shots and made the score 19-15.
James Kelly's second 3 for Miami made it 19-15 at the half.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
