College basketball

ACC men: Hurricanes keep NCAA hopes alive

CLEMSON, S.C. - Robert Hite scored 24 and Miami shot nearly 68 percent in the second half as the Hurricanes beat Clemson 83-77 on Saturday.

Miami scored on 10 of its final 13 possessions, including seven in a row after the Tigers tied it at 63 with seven minutes to go.

The Hurricanes shot 58.2 percent overall and made 21 of 31 in a second half that included six 3-pointers. Clemson shot 43.8 percent.

Miami's guards scored all but two of the Hurricanes' 52 in the second half as they kept alive their NCAA tournament hopes.

"We just wanted to be aggressive and try to get everybody involved," Hite said. "We knew we needed this game. We're fighting for the NCAA tournament."

Clemson led by as many as 13 in the first half before Miami went on a 12-3 run in just over four minutes to cut the Tigers' lead to 35-31 at the break.

Anthony Harris added 15 points, and Anthony King scored 14 and had 12 rebounds for the Hurricanes.

Clemson must win four of its last six games to be eligible for an NIT bid.

VIRGINIA 65, VA. TECH 60: Gary Forbes scored 17 in the last 13:09 of the game as host Virginia rallied. Forbes scored 14 of Virginia's 16 points in a span of 61/2 minutes when the Cavaliers turned a 38-32 deficit into a 48-46 lead with 6:32 remaining. Sean Singletary's 3-pointer made it 51-46. ... Virginia celebrated its 100 years playing the sport at halftime with about 50 former players and a triple-decker cake at center court.

[Last modified February 13, 2005, 01:08:17]