January 24, 2026; Syracuse, New York, USA; Miami Hurricanes coach Jay Lucas reacts during the second half against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Image Tre Donaldson scored 17 points and Malik Reneau added 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the no. 22 helped Miami beat SMU 77-69 in a late-season Atlantic Coast Conference game Wednesday in Dallas.
The win guaranteed Miami (24-6, 13-4 ACC) third place in the conference standings and a double-bye in the upcoming league tournament. The Hurricanes tied a school record for regular season wins.
The Hurricanes led by seven points in the first half and quickly doubled the margin within two minutes of the second half.
Shelton Henderson’s pull-up jumper pushed Miami’s advantage to 53-37 with 14:37 left, and the Mustangs cut the deficit to nine points on a pair of free throws from Samet Yigitoglu with 11:05 left.
Miami took a 7-0 lead on two free throws from Donaldson and rebuilt its lead to 16 points. SMU tied the game at 71-64 with 36.6 seconds left after Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 10 straight points for the Mustangs, but the Hurricanes have won their third straight game and are ranked seventh in their last eight contests.
Tru Washington added 15 points for Miami, Noam Dovrat had 12 and Henderson had 11. Ernest Udeh Jr. had 10 rebounds.
Pierre led all scorers with 27 points, including 25 in the second half. Boopie Miller contributed 21 for SMU, which played without star guard BJ Edwards (ankle).
The loss leaves the Mustangs (19-11, 8-9) in the middle of the league standings, and there’s still a chance they could move up to No. 8 if SMU can beat Florida State in its final game of the regular season. Teams seeded 5 through 9 advance to the second round of the ACC Tournament.
The Hurricanes never trailed, building an 18-13 lead when Henderson poured in a 3-pointer. SMU tied the game at 23 on a pair of Miller free throws before Miami regained the lead with a 10-4 spurt capped by a Washington tip-in layup.
Miami finished the first half successfully as Renaud hit a layup and Dovrat hit a jumper from beyond the arc with 4 seconds left to extend the Hurricanes’ lead to 38-31.
Miller led all scorers with 14 points by halftime, while Reneau and Dovrat paced the Hurricanes with nine points each.
–Field level media
