18-0 Run Powers Miami Past Georgia Tech

JOHNSON (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

MIAMI 54, GEORGIA TECH 36 -- It wasn’t pretty.  The halftime score was 20-19, Yellow Jackets.  This game was so ugly, that neither ESPN or Yahoo! Sports posted a single photo with the game recap.  (ESPN had 99 of the Maryland v. Wake Forest game by way of comparison!)

But, in the end it looked perfectly good to Miami who is still resume building in hopes of a bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Then, Rion Brown sparked the Canes with back-to-back second half three-pointers, and Miami ripped off an 18-0 run to bury woeful Georgia Tech in the opening round of the ACC tournament.

Georgia Tech ended its first season under coach Brian Gregory with its lowest-scoring game ever in the tournament. Also, it was easily the worst offensive showing by any team in the tournament during the shot-clock era.

Miami (19-11) wasn't exactly an offensive juggernaut, shooting just 33 percent. Shane Larkin was their top scorer with a mere 12 points, while Durand Scott added 11 and Brown had 10.

Georgia Tech  (11-20)  finished with its lowest-scoring game since a 38-36 loss to Auburn on Feb. 7, 1961. It was the third time this season Georgia Tech was held below 40 points at Philips Arena, its temporary home while the campus arena undergoes renovations.

SCOTT and JOHNSON (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Mdon Udofia scored 13 points, Brandon Reed chipped in with 11 - and no one else had more than five. Georgia Tech made 14 of 44 shots (32 percent) and turned it over 20 times.

Both teams struggled through the opening half, combining to make 14-of-51 shots from the field and coughing up the ball 15 times. That played into the hands of Georgia Tech, which came in with the ACC's second-worst offense at just 61 points a game. The Yellow Jackets actually went to the locker room with a 20-19 lead, glad to hunker down and make every possession a challenge.

But the Hurricanes finally woke up, going ahead for good when Larkin led a fast break and passed off to Brown, who spotted up for a 3 that made it 29-27. The next time down, Larkin found Brown open again behind the arc for another trey. Another swish. The Hurricanes never let up from there.