Cavaliers Earn First Road Win of the Season at Miami

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Virginia Cavaliers (10-11, 3-7 ACC) earned their first true road win of the season in an 82-71 victory over the Miami Hurricanes (4-17, 0-10 ACC) on Wednesday night (Jan. 29) at the Watsco Center.

Virginia shot 54.9 percent from the field and went 11-for-24 (45.8 percent) from deep. The Cavaliers notched a season-high in points, matched their season high with 20 assists and outrebounded the Canes 27-24.

Isaac McKneely led UVA with 26 points off 9-for-17 shooting and tied his career high with six 3-pointers. Taine Murray logged career-highs in points (20), field goals made (8) and assists (7) and tied his career-high with four three-pointers. Blake Buchanan rounded out the double-figure scorers for Virginia with 16 points off 6-for-8 shooting along with nine rebounds.

Miami finished with a 51 percent shooting mark and was led by Matthew Cleveland’s 27 points (10-17 FG, 7-8 FT).

HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia owned a 40-29 advantage at halftime after shooting 58.6 percent from the field and draining six 3-pointers. Following a 12-4 burst that put Miami up by five, the Cavaliers responded with a 14-0 run including four consecutive triples to claim a 23-14 lead. Virginia tallied 13 points off eight Hurricane turnovers and led by as many as 15 points. Isaac McKneely (13 points, 5-9 FG, 3 3FG) and Taine Murray (10 points, 4-7 FG, 2 3FG) reached double figure scoring in the first half alone.

Miami strung together a 10-2 run midway through the second half to cut its deficit to just three [47-44], however that was the closest the home team got to reclaiming the lead. The two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the stanza, but ultimately the Cavaliers held the Hurricanes at arm’s length to secure the 82-71 victory.

UP NEXT
Virginia hosts Virginia Tech in a Smithfield Commonwealth Clash on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 4 p.m. on ACC Network.