Miami Hurricanes basketball team melts down late in loss to Boston College

If the Hurricanes' basketball season is ultimately deemed a failure, look no further than the final 10 minutes of their latest collapse for explanation.

Miami had Boston College down 17 points and on the ropes Tuesday.

But instead delivering the knockout blow, the Canes could barely stagger out of their own corner for the final few rounds.

The Eagles scored 38 of the game's final 55 points and forced the Canes into a meltdown on the offensive end, handing UM a 79-75 defeat at the BankUnited Center -- Miami's third loss in as many games.

``I don't know what changed,'' said UM coach Frank Haith. ``We just missed shots. Obviously, it was a tough loss for us. You've just got to keep playing.''

The Eagles (11-8, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) took flight behind the sizzling shooting of forward Joe Trapani, who poured in 31 points, hitting 5 of 10 shots from behind the three-point line.

Meanwhile, the Canes (15-4, 1-4), who connected on 62 percent of their field-goal attempts in the first half, were toothless on the offensive end late.

James Dews and Adrian Thomas took turns missing open threes, while Dwayne Collins clanged the front of the crucial one-and-one.

The result: a season sweep at the hands of the Eagles.

The loss squandered the emergence of little-used freshman center Reggie Johnson, who barreled and bullied his way to the best game of his nascent collegiate career. Johnson pounded in 15 points and ripped down nine rebounds.

Johnson, who had averaged just 5.6 points and 12.1 minutes per game, started for just the second time this season.

After Tuesday's performance, Haith will be hard-pressed to keep him on the sidelines.

``It's disappointing,'' Johnson said. ``We've got a week off [before playing Maryland next Tuesday]. We need to keep fighting and never give up.''

Collins, who played despite tweaking his back over the weekend, scored 15 points and pulled in 11 rebounds in the loss. Malcolm Grant and Dews added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

In recent losses to Virginia Tech and Virginia, the Canes fell behind early -- trailing the Hokies by as many as 35 points in the first half.

The storyline repeated itself Tuesday as the Eagles raced out to a 12-5 lead in the game's first three minutes, behind eight quick points by Trapani.

But unlike the previous two contests, the Canes punched back, catching fire from behind the three-point line.

First, Thomas caught fire, burying two straight. Grant came off the bench to pour in a pair, while Dewes drilled one, as well. For a time, it didn't seem to matter who the shots came from -- or from where.

The Canes rode that hot start to a 10-point lead and extended the advantage to 17 points at the under-16-minute timeout.

Then the game -- and possibly the season -- came apart.

Source: miamiherald

Posted in: world Sports News