CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Miami let an early lead slip away Monday night en route to its lowest point total since joining the ACC in 2004-05.
Reece Beekman had 16 points and seven assists and Jacob Groves added 12 points, as Virginia stifled the Hurricanes, 60-38.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it was Miami’s worst output in the league since scoring 40 against the Cavaliers in February 2014. It was also the Hurricanes’ lowest point total in any game since reinstating their men’s basketball program in 1985-86.
And it was all a bit too much for Miami coach Jim Larranaga, who stayed by himself at the bench during a timeout while his team met with his staff on the court. And after the game, his news conference wasn’t much different.
“OK, let’s go, anybody got any questions?” he asked of the reporters, according to the Augusta (Virginia) Free Press.
When a reporter asked what changed in a game in which the Hurricanes once led 7-2, Larranaga replied, “The game. They just outplayed us in every aspect of the game. We didn’t play well. They played really well. Thank you for your attention.”
And then he left the room.
“We kind of just kept chipping away, and I thought it was a real complete performance,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “We moved hard on offense and tried to play really hard defensively.”
Virginia (18-5, 9-3 ACC) has won seven straight games overall, the longest active streak in the conference, and has now won an NCAA-leading 23 in a row at home. The Cavaliers improved to 114-2 when allowing 50 points or fewer in the Bennett era.
“We really tried to focus on not letting them get stuff in transition,” Bennett said.
Beekman gave Virginia a double-digit lead with 4:08 remaining in the first half and Miami trailed by at least 12 the entire second half. The Cavaliers started the second half with an 18-4 run, and then held Miami to just five field goals the rest of the way.
Miami, a Final Four team last season, finished 14-for-49 (28.6%) from the field, including going 0-for-10 from distance in the second half.
Isaac McKneely had nine points, six rebounds and four assists for Virginia. Ryan Dunn added eight points and eight rebounds. The Cavaliers had 20 assists on 26 field goals.
Norchad Omier had 11 points and 13 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season for Miami (15-8, 6-6). Wooga Poplar added eight points.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Hurricanes. Miami will host No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
