Miami, Still Dealing With Injuries, Can’t Beat Clemson on the Road

The Miami Hurricanes dropped to 7-15 (3-14 ACC) and last in the conference after losing to the Clemson Tigers 66-58 on the road Saturday afternoon. Miami had just seven players again during the game and every member of the starting lineup played more than 30 minutes of the game.

Before the game more bad news came for the Hurricanes, who will officially be without Harlond Beverly and Chris Lykes for the remainder of the season.

The Hurricanes got out to a quick start on the afternoon and led 21-16 with nine minutes left in the first half. Clemson closed out the half strong though, and took the lead before extending it to four with a buzzer-beating layup from Nick Honor.

Clemson maintained the lead throughout the entire second half, although Miami managed to keep the game close. With 13 minutes left in the game Isaiah Wong made it a three-point game after a trip to the line. Clemson responded with a 12-2 run that made the score 57-44 with just under ten minutes left in the game.

Miami started to get back into the game with under five minutes to go. A three from Isaiah Wong and a layup followed by an and-one from Elijah Olaniyi made it a three point game with just five minutes left.

Unfortunately, Miami’s fatigue started to set in, and Clemson pulled away for the win in the final four minutes. The Hurricanes played just six scholarship players and seven overall. Isaiah Wong was again Miami’s best player, he had 28 points and three rebounds and has become one of the ACC’s top scorers. Anthony Walker was another standout for Miami today, he had 13 points to go along with ten rebounds.

Clemson had a 49.1% shooting percentage for the game but was outrebounded by Miami 32-24. The Hurricanes, however, turned the ball over five times more than the Tigers and with such little depth they couldn’t afford to give those extra possessions to Clemson.

The Tigers were led by Aamir Simms and Al-Amir Dawes who each had 19 points on the afternoon. Hunter Tyson was also excellent for Clemson, scoring 10 points and adding six rebounds.

Miami now looks to their last two games of the season against No.15 Virginia and Boston College. The Hurricanes will hope to be able to take one of those two games to end what has been a season to forget on a more memorable note. The Hurricanes play Virginia on Monday at 6:00 p.m. on the ACC Network.