Miami Hurricanes get some revenge on Louisville, win 78-73 to advance to ACC semis
· Yahoo Sports
The Miami Hurricanes got some revenge on Thursday in Charlotte, knocking off Louisville 78-73 in the ACC quarterfinals just five days after losing to those same Cardinals 92-89 in Coral Gables in the regular season finale.
Malik Reneau was a machine, putting up 24 points on 8-17 shooting with six rebounds and three steals. Tre Donaldson added 14 points with six assists, and Tru Washington had 17 points off the bench for the Canes.
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This was a back and forth game for much of the first half, with the Cards taking the first notable lead at 20-13. Miami went on an 11-3 run to take the lead back briefly, and then a game of scoreboard seesaw went on until the final minute, when the Cardinals took a 38-37 lead into the locker room.
But in the second half, the Hurricanes took control of the game and kept their noses out front the rest of the way. After Adrian Wooley – who hit the game winner in Coral Gables – gave Louisville a brief lead, Reneau knocked down a long three to get the lead back at 42-41 early in the second half. And it would be a lead that Miami would never give back. Donaldson found Dante Allen on a runout, and he dunked it with an and one for a 49-41 lead.
Miami would keep the lead in the 6 to 9 point range until under 7 minutes left in the game. J’Vonne Hadley went straight up and drew a foul on Washington while banking in a jumper to cut the lead to 62-59, and the Cards had all the momentum. Ryan Conwell then drew it to one with an and one.
But Reneau pushed the lead back to four with a free throw followed by a dunk the next time down. And after the Cards brought it back to 66-64, Washington splashed a three for a bit of breathing room with three minutes and change left.
That breathing room disappeared again when Isaac McNeely cleaned up his teammate’s missed driving layup to cut it to 69-68 with a little over a minute left. But as he did all day, Reneau came up with a big answer, taking it to the basket and scoring just inside of a minute to play. Louisville turned it over on the inbounds, and Conwell fouled for two free throws for Washington. Reneau sank a couple of free throws for a 76-71 lead with under 20 seconds left.
Then, Shelton Henderson blocked a three, drove the length of the floor, and slammed it home for the final exclamation point with four seconds left.
Up next is a date with Virginia on Friday afternoon at 7:00 pm ET.