CLEMSON, S.C. — No. 3 Miami kept its perfect Atlantic Coast Conference season intact, no matter how bad things may have gone against Clemson.
Kenny Kadji had 12 points and hit the go-ahead three pointer with 36 seconds left in the Hurricanes’ 45-43 victory Sunday night.
Their poor shooting, bad turnovers and ugly execution that showed themselves at times against the Tigers didn’t matter because of the final outcome.
“All that is irrelevant,” Miami Coach Jim Larranaga said. “We won the game. Time to move on.”
And they’ll do it at 12-0 in the ACC, the hottest league start since Duke went 16-0 on the way to the conference title in 1998-99. Miami (21-3) will likely supplant Duke - which lost at Maryland on Saturday night - as the country’s second-ranked team when the new poll is released today.
With six games remaining, the Hurricanes hold a three game edge over second-place Duke in the ACC as they chase their first league basketball championship.
“All we’re thinking about is being 13-0,” said Durand Scott, held to 3 points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Miami’s single-minded focus on the moment paid off at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Hurricanes were down 42-38 on Jordan Roper’s steal and coast to-coast layup with 2:00 to go. Clemson got the ball back moments later when Shane Larkin’s 3-point try rattled in and out and the large crowd could smell the upset.
Instead, Miami dug in down the stretch to escape with its 13th consecutive victory.
K.J. McDaniels missed a 1-and-1 try for Clemson and Miami’s Rion Brown drove lane for a basket and got fouled, his three-point play drawing Miami within a point.
McDaniel made one of two free throws before Kadji hit an open three-pointer to put Miami in front for good. Rod Hall tried to answer back for the Tigers (13-12, 5-8), but Miami’s Trey McKinney Jones drew the offensive foul with 13 seconds left.
After McKinney Jones made a free throw, Hall again drove to back, but his layup try didn’t go. McDaniels missed a tip in attempt as time ran out. Miami’s players hugged each other in relief when it was over.
Larranaga said it would’ve been easy for his team to lose composure when the shots wouldn’t fall.
“But we were able to stick together and that makes a huge difference,” he said.
The Tigers endured their second straight home heart breaker. They were beaten 58-57 by North Carolina State on Scott Wood’s 3-pointer at the end on Feb. 10.
Clemson Coach Brad Brownell said his team continues to miss makeable shots.
“I thought we got the ball in great places on a lot of possessions, but you need to score to win,” he said.
It was far from the prettiest game the Hurricanes have played in the breakout season. They scored their fewest points this year, shot under 26 percent in the first half and saw their high-scoring guard duo of Scott and Larkin go just 3 of 16 from the field.
None of that made a difference for Kadji, who easily made the decisive shot.
“We’re going to fight until the clock is finished,” Kadji said. “That’s something coach always tells us. You want to play hard and try to win.”
Freshman Jordan Roper had a career-high 19 points for the Tigers. Devin Booker added 10 points and 11 rebounds, his fifth game this season with double-figure points and rebounds.
NO. 4 MICHIGAN 79, PENN STATE 71
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Trey Burke scored a season-high 29 points and freshman Glen Robinson III matched a career high with 21 to help No. 4 Michigan bounce back from an embarrassing defeat with a 79-71 victory over Penn State on Sunday.
The Wolverines (22-4, 9-4 Big Ten) had dropped three of their previous four games, including a 23-point loss Tuesday night at No. 8 Michigan State, and needed a half to shake off their slump. Michigan trailed for much of the first 20 minutes against a last-place team without a conference win.
The Nittany Lions (8-17, 0-13) led by as many as eight in the first half. They went ahead 7-plus minutes into the game and had the lead until Burke made a game-tying, off-balance fade away with 55 seconds left in the first half.
Michigan scored the first six points after halftime to take control. Freshman Nik Stauskas scored 18, giving the Wolverines the third scoring option they needed to avoid an upset.
Penn State’s Jermaine Marshall and Sasa Borovnjak each scored 17 points.
NO. 9 ARIZONA 68, UTAH 64
SALT LAKE CITY - Mark Lyons scored 18 points, freshman Brandon Ashley added 10 in a reserve role and No. 9 Arizona defeated Utah 68-64 on Sunday to snap a two-game skid.
Arizona led by as many as 13 early in the second half only to see Utah respond with a 14-3 run to tie it at 51 with 7:28 remaining on Jason Washburn’s tip-in.
A 3-pointer by Dakarai Tucker pulled Utah within two with 4:46 left, but a put back by Kevin Parrom and a layup by Lyons helped seal it for the Wildcats (21-4, 9-4 Pac-12), who were coming off their worst loss of the season.
Jarred DuBois had 16 points, Washburn15 and Jeremy Olsen 12 for the Utes (11-14, 3-10), who have yet to win back-to back conference games since joining the Pac-12 two years ago.
NO. 12 LOUISVILLE 59, SOUTH FLORIDA 41
TAMPA, Fla. - Russ Smith scored 15 points and Louisville stayed within a game of first place in the Big East with a lopsided victory over South Florida.
Smith, Wayne Blackshear and Kevin Ware did all the scoring for the Cardinals during a 22-3 run in the first half. Smith finished with six rebounds and four assists for Louisville (21-5, 9-4), which has won four of five.
Blackshear’s 3-pointer tied it 11-all with 12:58 left in the first half and launched the decisive rally. Smith scored the final seven points of the spurt, which left the Cardinals with a 30-14 lead.
JaVontae Hawkins’ 3-pointer provided USF’s only points in a 9-minute span. Jawanza Poland scored 11 points for the Bulls (10-15, 1-12), who shot 24.5 percent and lost their eighth straight.
NO. 20 WISCONSIN 71, NO. 13 OHIO STATE 49
MADISON, Wis. - Ben Brust and Jared Berggren each scored 15 points as Wisconsin routed Ohio State.
Sam Dekker came off the bench to score 13 for the Badgers (18-8, 9-4 Big Ten), and Traevon Jackson added 10.
DeShaun Thomas led the Buckeyes (18-7, 8-5) with 18 points.
The win kept Wisconsin tied with Michigan for third in the conference, two games behind leaders Indiana and Michigan State. Ohio State dropped into fifth place.
Wisconsin put Ohio State in a hole early and never let the Buckeyes climb out of it. They started the game 3 for 18 from the field and could not get into a rhythm.
The Badgers took control with an 18-0 run in the first half that lasted more than 7 minutes and put them up 24-6. Wisconsin led by as many as 26 in the second half.
The 17-point halftime deficit was Ohio State’s largest since March 2007 against Tennessee.
Sports, Pages 20 on 02/18/2013