CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Marcus Georges-Hunt followed his own miss for the winning tip-in at the buzzer Wednesday night, and Georgia Tech rallied past Miami 71-69 to prevent the Hurricanes from clinching the outright Atlantic Coast Conference title.
The Hurricanes (23-6, 14-3 ACC), who squandered a 13-point lead in the second half, lost for the third time in four games and fell to 13-1 at home. They were already assured of a share of the title and can still clinch the championship outright by winning their regular season finale at home against Clemson on Saturday.
Georgia Tech (16-13, 6-11) beat a Top 25 team for the first time since March 2010.
Julian Gamble’s three-point play with 12 minutes to go put Miami up 56-45 before the Yellow Jackets rallied, taking the lead on Chris Bolden’s layup following a steal with 3:38 to go.
After a basket by Tech’s Daniel Miller’s made it 69-all with 2:14 left, each team misfired. Robert Carter Jr. intercepted a pass by Durand Scott to set up the final possession with 35 seconds left.
Georges-Hunt drove into the lane and threw up a one-hander over Kenny Kadji that bounced off the rim. Georges-Hunt and Carter both appeared to get a hand on the rebound, and the tip-in was credited to Georges-Hunt for only his second basket of the game.
Bolden scored 21 points for Tech and went 4 for 8 from 3-point range. Miller added 17 points and five rebounds.
Tech stayed close by shooting 8 for 18 from 3-point range, including 6 for 10 in the second half. The narrow victory was a big turnaround for the Yellow Jackets, who had lost four league games by five points or less.
Kadji had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Hurricanes while Scott had 17 points.
The near-sellout crowd, subdued for much of the night, came alive late in the game. As the Hurricanes’ lead dissipated, coach Jim Larranaga waved his arms and fist and screamed “Let’s go,” desperate for defensive stops.
Offense was the bigger problem. Miami went 5 minutes without a field goal down the stretch and shot 36 percent in the second half.
The Hurricanes made six consecutive shots, capped by Kadji’s 3-pointer, during a 14-0 run that put them ahead 25-14 midway through the first half. The margin was 43-32 at halftime.