Isaiah Wong scored 20 points, including a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds left, as Miami knocked off Clemson 67-64 in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum.
The Hurricanes (10-16) became the first No. 13 seed in ACC tournament history to advance to the quarterfinal round. Miami will face No. 4 seed Georgia Tech on Thursday afternoon.
Clemson (16-7), which lost for just the second time in eight games, is expected to receive an at-large NCAA Tournament berth for the third time in coach Brad Brownell's 11 seasons. The Tigers are the only original member of the ACC to have never won the ACC tournament.
Wong, a sophomore guard, made 8-of-14 shots from the floor as Miami -- playing with only six scholarship players -- won its third consecutive game for the first time since opening the season 3-0.
Anthony Walker added 15 points and Kameron McGusty had 14 for the Hurricanes, who shot 53.7 percent from the floor.
Clemson dominated the game early and made five of its first six 3-point attempts in racing to a nine-point lead, 21-12, midway through the first half. But Wong keyed a late rally that saw the Hurricanes close their halftime deficit to 36-32.
Miami went on a 16-2 run early in the second half and led by as many as nine points, 59-50, with 7:25 remaining, but the Tigers rallied to pull within a single point, 65-64, with 36 seconds to play. Clemson's Nick Honor missed a runner with six seconds remaining and Wong made both ends of a one-and-one to clinch the victory.
Aamir Simms led Clemson with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting while also grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Hunter Tyson scored 16 points and made all four of his 3-point attempts while Clyde Trapp added 10 points.
Clemson shot 46 percent from the floor, including 52.2 percent (12 of 23) from beyond the arc.
Miami snapped a three-game losing streak against Clemson, including a 69-64 decision in the opening round of last year's ACC tournament.
--Field Level Media
Miami-Florida | Clemson | |
Isaiah Wong 20 | Scoring | Aamir Simms 17 |
Kameron McGusty 4 | Assists | Aamir Simms 4 |
Anthony Walker 6 | Rebounds | Aamir Simms 8 |
Isaiah Wong 3 | Free Throws Made | Al-Amir Dawes 2 |
Anthony Walker 3 | Steals | Al-Amir Dawes 2 |
Deng Gak 1 | Blocks | Aamir Simms 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Miami-Florida | 67 | 53.7 | 5-13 | 4-5 | 9 | 25 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
Clemson | 64 | 46.9 | 12-23 | 6-6 | 15 | 23 | 3 | 5 | 15 |