Tre Donaldson scores 32 points, leads Miami past Virginia Tech

The Miami Hurricanes needed every bit of Tre Donaldson’s 32 points to edge Virginia Tech 67-66 at home on Tuesday.

Donaldson tied the game 66-66 with a three-pointer during the game’s final minute. He gave the Hurricanes the lead on a free throw for his final point with 12 seconds to go.

The Hokies tried to beat the buzzer and win on a 9-foot jumper by Ben Hammond, but it didn’t go in. Virginia Tech (17-10, 6-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) was led by Amani Hansberry’s 16 points, followed by Jailen Bedford’s 12 points and Hammond’s 10.

The Hurricanes got ahead of the Hokies early thanks to a pair of three-point baskets by Dante Allen to lead 12-5 through the first five minutes of the game. He finished the game with 10 points for the Hurricanes.

Virginia Tech responded with a 13-4 run to claw ahead of the Hurricanes and lead 18-16 with 11 minutes remaining in the first half. Jaden Schutt capped the run with back-to-back three-pointers for his first baskets of the game.

Hansberry made an 8-foot turnaround jump shot to maintain Virginia Tech’s slight 25-24 lead with 7:07 left in the first half. The Hokies extended their lead to five entering the final minute of the first half, punctuated by a slam dunk by German freshman center Antonio Dorn.

Virginia Tech went into halftime leading 34-31 due to its success from the three-point line, where the Hokies shot 5-of-11 from the arc. They finished the game with an 8-of-20 clip from long range.

Donaldson ended the first half scoring with a mid-range shot and has led the Hurricanes through the first five minutes of the second half, slightly trailing Virginia Tech 44-43.

Tru Washington tied the game 50-50 for the Hurricanes with a free throw but the Hookies quickly retook the lead with a three-pointer by Jailen Bedford and a layup from Hansberry to go up 55-50 with 9:19 left in the game.

Donaldson scored seven straight points to put Miami ahead but a shot jumper by Christian Gurdak tied the game 61-61 with 3:43 left in the game.

Tobi Lawal shot a jumper and slammed a dunk to put Virginia Tech’s lead up 65-61 with 2:34 remaining. It was the last time Virginia Tech would lead in the game as Donaldson took over in crunch time.

The Hokies have lost four of their last five games while the Hurricanes (21-5, 10-3), have won four straight and six of their last seven games to move into the top 4 in the ACC.

The Hurricanes travel to No. 14 Virginia on Saturday.