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No. 2 Miami-Florida guts out win over Virginia

Feb 20, 2013 - 4:49 AM Coral Gables, FL (Sports Network) - Second-ranked Miami-Florida escaped with another hard-fought ACC victory on Tuesday.

Reggie Johnson's layup with 5.7 seconds remaining lifted the Hurricanes over the Virginia Cavaliers, 54-50.

It was the 14th consecutive victory for Miami (22-3, 13-0 ACC), which survived a thriller on Sunday night, overcoming a late four-point deficit to down Clemson, 45-43.

Johnson ended with eight points and seven rebounds for the Hurricanes, who are off to the best start in conference history since Duke went 16-0 en route to the league crown in the 1998-99 season. Shane Larkin and Rion Brown added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the winners.

Joe Harris had 16 points and seven boards for the Cavaliers (18-8, 8-5), who have lost two in a row since a three-game winning streak.

Harris made a 3-pointer from the corner with 57 seconds left to tie the game at 46. However, Larkin responded with a layup at the other end to put Miami back in front.

Harris then went 1-of-2 from the foul line to cut the gap to 48-47 with 32.8 ticks left on the clock. Larkin made both of his free throws on the ensuing Miami possession.

Kenny Kadji blocked Harris' shot from beyond the arc, but the ball went out off the Hurricanes. Following a timeout, Evan Nolte made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50 with 14.3 seconds to go.

Once again, Miami had the answer. Larkin was pressured near the three-point line and found Johnson open under the basket. Johnson made the easy layup to give the home team the lead with 5.7 ticks remaining.

Durand Scott stole the ensuing inbound pass and made two free throws to seal the victory.

Miami led by as many as seven in the first half and took a 24-22 edge into the locker room.

The Hurricanes built a seven-point lead less than nine minutes into the second half.

Paul Jesperson and Justin Anderson made 3-pointers around Larkin's layup to get Virginia within one, 40-39, with 6:42 to play.

Game Notes

Miami holds a 10-5 all-time series edge versus the Cavaliers. The Hurricanes are 6-0 against Virginia at home ... Miami improved to 12-0 at home this season ... The Hurricanes hold a 3 1/2-game edge over second-place Duke in the ACC as they chase their first league basketball championship ... Julian Gamble had eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Miami.