Miami

Miami Outlasts Boston College, 89-86 in 2 OTs

Miami spent its time Sunday after its game against Boston College was postponed playing what coach Jim Larranaga called "Ballroom Baseball."

A day later, his team pulled out what felt like a walk-off win over the Eagles.

Tonye Jekiri hit four free throws in the closing 54.4 seconds of the second overtime, lifting the Hurricanes to an 89-86 victory over Boston College in a Monday afternoon makeup of a game postponed by yet another snowstorm in the region.

Once the game was called Sunday, Larranaga decided his team needed to have a little fun inside the hotel. The players wrapped up a piece of paper with athletic tape and used their arms and hands as bats in the ballroom.

"This is like a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth," Larranaga said of the victory Monday.

With tourney hopes likely to take a big hit with a loss, the Hurricanes rallied after being down by four with just 25 seconds left in the first OT.

"Personally, I think if we didn't win this game it might have been over for us as far as NCAA tournament is concerned," Miami guard Davon Reed said. "Coming down the final stretch, we needed this game."

Sheldon McClellan led the Hurricanes (16-9, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 24 points. Reed had 19, Deandre Burnett 13 and Jekiri 12 with 15 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Olivier Hanlan scored 11 of his 32 points in the overtimes for Boston College (9-15, 1-11).

"You've got to put these games away," B.C. coach Jim Christian said. "You only get so many chances."

Patrick Heckmann added 13 points with eight rebounds, and Dennis Clifford 10 points for the Eagles, who lost their sixth straight.

B.C. led 75-71 after Clifford's dunk with 25 seconds left in the first OT. Burnett then had a three-point play six seconds later.

"When Dennis got the dunk and we were up by four, we just needed one stop," Hanlan said. "It was tough."

The game was originally scheduled for Sunday night, but was pushed back after over a foot of snow fell.

The game was tied 15 times before Jekiri was fouled grabbing a rebound by Heckmann, who had missed a driving shot to the basket. After Dimitri Batten's miss on the ensuing possession, Jekiri hit two more.

The Eagles fouled in the closing seconds and gave themselves a chance, but Hanlan couldn't get a potential tying 3-point shot off before the horn sounded.

In the first OT, Miami led by one before Hanlan nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner, making it 73-71. He also scored on a jumper in the lane and a fast-break layup earlier.

The Hurricanes trailed by four, but tied it at 76 on Burnett's two free throws with 11.5 seconds left.

Heckmann front-rimmed a drive to the basket and McClellan fired a desperation half-court shot off the backboard, sending it to double OT.

Brown back-rimmed a drive just before the buzzer, sending it to OT.

Despite free admission, there was a sparse crowd _ in part due to very limited parking spots on campus because of ongoing snow removal that caused traffic delays around the city.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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