The Miami Hurricanes took the road to Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean E. Smith Center. Despite a strong individual performance from senior Matthew Cleveland, the Hurricanes were unable to keep up with the Tar Heels’ offensive efficiency and ultimately fell 92-73, extending their losing streak to five games.
The Hurricanes were without starting big man Lynn Kidd, who had scored in double figures in four consecutive games prior to this matchup. However, the ’Canes welcomed back Cleveland, who had missed the previous two games due to an ankle injury.
Cleveland wasted no time returning to form, recording his 12th 20-point game of the season with a team-high 25 points. He also posted five rebounds and five assists, becoming just the seventh player in the ACC this season to post at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a single game. His early efforts would keep Miami (6-23, 2-16 ACC) in the contest, as he scored 14 of his points in the first half on an efficient 7-of-13 clip from the field.
Senior Brandon Johnson would also step up in the absence of Kidd, scoring 20 points, which marked his first 20-point game of conference play this season. However, Johnson and Cleveland were the only players to reach double figures in the game. Despite their contributions, Miami struggled to contain North Carolina’s (19-11, 12-6 ACC) high-powered offense.
To close the first half, the Tar Heels finished on a 15-4 run, leaving the Hurricanes in a 46-31 deficit at halftime.
The Tar Heels were able to maintain control coming out of the half, as they knocked down six of their first seven shots to jump out to a 58-37 lead within the first five minutes.
Freshman Austin Swartz provided a spark by hitting a 3-pointer at the 7:10 mark of the game, marking his third of the contest and narrowing the lead to 14 points. However, North Carolina remained dominant throughout, and Miami was unable to close the gap to within 10 points during the second half.
The Tar Heels shot an impressive 58.9% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc in the contest, which was more than enough to secure the victory over the Hurricanes. North Carolina was led by junior Ven-Allen Lubin, who scored a team-high 19 points on an exceptional 9-of-10 shooting mark. The forward also grabbed five rebounds and a block, but it was a well-rounded effort for the Tar Heels, as they had six different players score in double figures during the game.
Miami will wrap up its road schedule on Tuesday when it travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech at McCamish Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network.