By WYATT GELLER

They were on their heels for the entire game, but the Miami Hurricanes were able to stay in front most of the game as they held off the University of Virginia Cavaliers 64-61.

Virginia guard London Perrantes missed a game tying three pointer from half court as time expired to secure the victory.

Miami and Virginia players wait for the referees to resume play in the first half (Photo by Wyatt Geller).

The hero from the game was Junior forward Davon Reed who had a career high of 21 points on 5-6 shooting from the three point line.

He got the Canes going offensively early on with two 3s, and he hit two more at the beginning of the second half.  Reed also sank two free throws to safely put the Canes up by three late in the game.

After a slow offensive start for both teams, Miami led 30-25 at halftime thanks to a floater from three point range by Sheldon McClellan as time expired.  McClellan would finish with 11 points.

The story of the second half became a catch up game for Virginia when Miami would go up by more than two possessions.  After Miami went up 39-29, Senior guard Malcolm Brogdon helped Virginia cut the lead back down to a one possession game with 15 minutes to go.  Brogdon, who is a candidate with McClellan for ACC player of the year, finished with a game high 28 points.

At the final media timeout with under four minutes to play, Miami led 60-52 and seemed to be in control of the game.  Brogdon then hit two shots and Perrantes made a layup to make it a 60-59 game.

Miami could had put Virginia away a little sooner, but it only shot 60 percent from the foul line going 12-20. Free throw shooting along with poor rebounding allowed Virginia to continue to creep back into the ball game.

If I were Coach Jim Larranaga, I would work to formulate a plan for interior post defense when Tonye Jekiri goes to the bench. Kamari Murphy seems likes the best option to cover the other teams’ center’s, as he finished the game with 11 rebounds.

Monday night’s win was a statement victory for the Canes, as they moved within a half game of North Carolina in the ACC standings and continue to battle for the regular season title. We will see you Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. for the home finale against Louisville.