RALEIGH, N.C. — Reggie Johnson saw the ball go up, bounce off the backboard and then the rim before heading his way. The big man muscled his way up to tip in a shot that extended No. 14 Miami’s surprise run through the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Johnson’s left-handed tip with 0.8 seconds left helped the Hurricanes beat No. 19 North Carolina State 79-78 on Saturday, capping a back-and-forth second half and keeping the Hurricanes unbeaten in the league.

Johnson finished with 15 points for the Hurricanes (17-3, 8-0) in his best performance since returning from a broken left thumb four games ago. Durand Scott led Miami with 18 points and Julian Gamble added 16 to help the Hurricanes win their ninth consecutive game, a run that included a blowout of then-No. 1 Dukelast week.

The Hurricanes, picked to finish fifth in the ACC in preseason, were only the ninth team to start 7-0 in ACC play since the 1996-2997 season. Now they’re off to the best league start since Duke went 10-0 five years ago, according to STATS LLC.

“No pressure on us,” Gamble said. “We’re having as much fun as possible. We know teams are going to gun at us and play their absolute best every night.”

After a timeout with 10.9 seconds remaining to set up a final play, Shane Larkin missed a shot on the right side. But Johnson tipped the ball up and in over Richard Howell to stun a home crowd that had been as loud as it was for rivalry victories against Duke and North Carolina in the past month.

N.C. State (16-6, 5-4) nearly topped Johnson’s tip when freshman Rodney Purvis launched a heave from well beyond half-court at the horn that hit the rim and rattled out to end it.

“I got inside and went up with the left hand and tipped it in,” Johnson said. “I had the position. But when I saw their shot go in and out, my heartwas in my throat.”

C.J. Leslie had 18 points and 12 rebounds despite coming off the bench for an undisclosed disciplinary reason for the Wolfpack, who played without starting point guard Lorenzo Brown because of an ankle injury.

In other ACC games, Seth Curry scored 21 points, Quinn Cook added 18 and fifth-ranked Duke (19-2, 6-2) cruised to a 79-60 victory over host Florida State (12-9, 4-4). ... Freshman Marcus Paige scored eight of his season-high 19 points in overtime to help host North Carolina (15-6, 5-3) win 72-60 over Virginia Tech (11-10, 2-6). ... Freshman Joe Rahon scored a season-high 26 points and host Boston College (10-11, 2-6) snapped a five game losing streak with a 75-68 victory over Clemson (12-9, 4-5) despite nearly blowing a 17-point lead in the closing 51/2 minutes. ... Logan Aronhalt scored 13 points, Alex Len had 12 points and nine rebounds and host Maryland (16-6, 4-5) rolled 86-80 over Wake Forest (10-11, 3-6).

BIG EAST Syracuse upset

PITTSBURGH - Tray Woodall had 13 points, four assists and three steals as Pittsburgh continued its mastery of Top 10 teams at home, pulling away from No. 6 Syracuse in a 65-55 victory Saturday.

Trey Zeigler added 6 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists off the bench for the Panthers (18-5, 6-4 Big East), who improved to 13-1 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 since the Petersen Events Center opened a decade ago.

C.J. Fair led Syracuse (18-3, 6-2) with 20 points and Brandon Triche scored 14 but the Orange never led in the second half while losing two consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years. Michael Carter-Williams added 13 points for Syracuse but the nation’s leader in assists finished with just two - nearly seven belowhis average.

In other Big East games, Sean Kilpatrick scored 21 points and Cashmere Wright added 17 as No. 24 Cincinnati (18-4, 2-7) blew almost all of a 20-point lead before holding off host Seton Hall (13-9, 2-7) for a 65-59 victory. ... Jack Cooley scored 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as Notre Dame (18-4, 6-4) won 79-71 in overtime over host DePaul (10-11, 1-7). ... Nate Lubick scored a career-high 16 points and host Georgetown (16-4, 6-3) won 68-56 over St. John’s (14-8, 6-4).

Sports, Pages 29 on 02/03/2013