by Fitzgerald Cecilio

Greensboro, NC

Shane Larkin poured eight of Miami's (FL) 12 points in the last 2:23 to help the Hurricanes pull away for an 87-77 victory over North Carolina and the university's first ACC Tournament trophy Sunday at Greensboro Coliseum.

Larkin made a layup and Trey McKinney Jones hit a three-pointer to put to Hurricanes ahead, 79-71.

Dexter Strickland answered with a layup but Larkin buried four foul shots to make it a 10-point game, with 42 seconds left.

With the victory, the Hurricanes (27-6) added the ACC Tournament trophy to go along with their ACC regular-season title.

Miami became the first school since 1974 to win the ACC outright regular-season and tournament titles in the same season. It was also first university outside of the state of North Carolina to accomplish it.

"That was something special. This is a milestone for this team and we'll cherish this for the rest of our lives," coach Jim Larranaga said after the victory.

Larkin finished with a career-best 28 points on 8-for-15 shooting to earn tournament MVP honors. He also had seven assists and five rebounds while McKinney Jones added a career-high 20 for the Hurricanes.

Larkin and Jones combined for 10 of the team's 12 triples while Rion Brown added two from beyond the arc to finish with 12. Julian Gamble added 11 markers and 10 boards for the Hurricanes.

Later, Larkin and Durand Scott were named to the ACC All-Tournament first team, while Gamble and McKinney Jones were named to the second team.

Overall, the Hurricanes shot 30-for-59 from the field for 50.8 percent while the Tar Heels made 27 of 60 shots for 45 percent.

The Hurricanes improve to 5-18 against North Carolina in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1949-50 season. The Canes have defeated UNC three times this season after losing 10 straight games to the Tar Heels.

PJ Hairston finished with 28 points, Marcus Paige added 17, James Michael McAdoo had 12 and Reggie Bullock had 11 for the Tar Heels (24-10).

 

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Shane Larkin Powers Miami Past North Carolina for ACC Title