Canes Finish Strong To Beat #11 Louisville, 73-65

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CORAL GABLES (The Sports Xchange) -- No. 12 Miami closed out a back-and-forth game with an 11-3 run over the final four minutes for a 73-65 victory over No. 11 Louisville on Saturday in a battle for second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference race.

Guards Davon Reed and Angel Rodriguez led the Hurricanes (23-5, 12-4 ACC) with 17 points each with Reed hitting a key 3-pointer that gave Miami a 68-62 cushion with 41.1 seconds remaining.

Guard Quentin Snider led the Cardinals (22-7, 11-5 with 14 points.

The Cardinals opened the second half on a 9-2 run to take a nine-point lead, 47-38, but the Hurricanes countered with a 10-0 spurt ignited by guard Angel Rodriguez's five quick points.

The Cardinals bounced back and took a 56-51 lead with 8:01 left in the game and again, but the Hurricanes worked their way back to a 62-62 tie with just under four minutes left in the game.

Louisville went the locker room up two points, 38-36, at the break after a torrid shooting half by both teams. The Hurricanes shot 59.1 percent from the field (13 of 22), the Cardinals 57.7 (15 of 26), and the biggest spread in the first 20 minutes was a pair of five-point leads by each team.

Louisville jumped in front 5-0 on a dunk by forward/center Chinanu Onuaku and 3-pointer by guard Trey Lewis, and Miami held a 14-9 lead on consecutive 3-pointers by forward Ivan Cruz Uceda and guard Davon Reed.

NOTES: Miami's last win over Louisville in the series was a 94-84 decision on Feb. 9, 1963. Louisville leads the series 9-3. ... Louisville G Damion Lee came into the game needing 13 points to get to the 2,000-mark for his collegiate career, but settled for only six. A transfer from Drexel, Lee has scored 450 points for the Cardinals this season. ... Miami announced before the game that sophomore G Ja'Quan Newton (10.9 ppg) has been suspended for the final three games of the regular season (Louisville, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech) for a "violation of team rules." ... Miami F Ivan Cruz Uceda got his seventh start of the season and first since Nov. 27 in the loss to Northeastern as he and fellow classmates G Angel Rodriguez, G Sheldon McClellan, and C Tonye Jekiri were recognized on Senior Day as the Hurricanes wound up their home schedule.

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