Boopie Miller’s buzzer-beating 3 lifts SMU over Virginia Tech
Boopie Miller poured in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from just beyond halfcourt to lift SMU to a wild 77-76 win over Virginia Tech on Wednesday in an Atlantic Coast Conference game in Dallas.
The Hokies trailed by a point at intermission but leapfrogged to the front early in the second half and built an eight-point advantage with 14:24 left to play. SMU (13-4, 2-2 ACC) fought back, drawing to within 67-63 on a pair of free throws by Miller with 5:53 remaining and setting the stage for a furious finish.
A jumper and a free throw by Miller, the latter with 58 seconds to play, brought the Mustangs to within a point. But Jaden Schutt canned a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left and the shot clock running down to push Virginia Tech's lead back to four.
A layup by B.J. Edwards with five seconds left cut SMU's deficit to two. After two missed free throws by the Hokies, SMU called a timeout with 2.6 seconds left. Miller caught the inbounds pass on the run and pushed a two-handed shot toward the far rim where it found the bottom of the net.
Miller finished with 24 points, Samet Yigitoglu added 14 points for the Mustangs, with Jaron Pierre Jr. scoring 13 and Jaden Toombs hitting for 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. SMU snapped a two-game losing streak.
Jailen Bedford led Virginia Tech (13-5, 2-3) with 22 points. Schutt added 15 while Ben Hammond had 11 and Tobi Lawal and Neoklis Avdalas had 10 each.
With the game tied at 12-all, the Mustangs put together a 9-0 run punctuated by back-to-back baskets by Toombs. Virginia Tech answered with seven straight points and pulled within a bucket when Amani Hansberry scored on a layup at the 8:27 mark.
The Hokies closed the half with three free throws by Lawal to pull to within 39-38 at the break. Bedford led all players with nine points before halftime while Washington, Toombs and Pierre scored eight points each to pace SMU.