Isaac McKneely scores 26, Taine Murray 20 and Virginia defeats Miami 82-71

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- — Isaac McKneely scored 26 points and Taine Murray added a career-high 20 for Virginia in an 82-71 victory over Miami on Wednesday night.

McKneely's season-high point total came on 9 of 17 shooting with 6 of 12 3-pointers. Murray, who averages 3.7 points per game, made 8 of 12 shots with 4 of 6 3-pointers. Murray added seven assists, also a career high. Blake Buchanan had 16 points and nine rebounds for Virginia (10-11, 3-7 ACC).

Twice in the second half Miami got within four points of Virginia and twice McKneely answered with a 3-pointer. The second of those 3s gave the Cavaliers a 67-60 lead with 4 1/2 minutes to go. McKneely scored the next seven points for the Cavaliers and they led 74-64 with two minutes remaining.

Miami closed to within 76-71 with 49 seconds to go but four free throws by Ishan Sharma and two from Jacob Cofie sealed it for Virginia.

Matthew Cleveland had 27 points for Miami. A 15.1 ppg scorer, he has scored at least 23 in the past four games. Brandon Johnson added 13 points for the Hurricanes (4-17, 0-10).

McKneely hit three 3-pointers and Dai Dai Ames had another as the Cavaliers took the lead for good with a 14-2 run midway through the first half. Later in the half, Murray scored five points in a 7-0 run that gave Virginia a 38-23 lead with two minutes remaining. The Cavaliers led 40-29 at halftime.

The Cavaliers host Virginia Tech on Saturday when Miami hosts Notre Dame.

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