Virginia Tech 73, Miami 63

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Zabian Dowdell scored a game-high 23 points and Virginia Tech beat fellow Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer Miami 73-63 Wednesday night.

It was the fifth win in the past six games for Virginia Tech (12-7, 5-3), who had won five straight before Sunday's 100-65 loss at No. 4 Duke.

Meanwhile, Miami (13-7, 4-5) has gone in the other direction, losing for the fourth time in the past five games to fall below .500 in the ACC for the first time. Robert Hite led the Hurricanes with 17 points.

Both teams struggled to find any consistency, but it was Virginia Tech's 3-point shooting that proved to be the difference. The Hokies connected on 9-of-22 attempts from behind the arc, including 5-of-10 from Dowdell.

Virginia Tech hit five 3-pointers in the second half, including four during a crucial 5:23 stretch. The Hokies went from down six to leading by seven during that span, with Dowdell's fourth 3-pointer giving them a 59-52 lead with 5:11 remaining.

Miami pulled to within 63-60 on a Guillermo Diaz layup with 2:42 left, but a turnover led to Carlos Dixon's layup and a 65-60 Virginia Tech lead with 1:53 to go. A driving layup by Diaz made it 65-62 at 1:34, but Virginia Tech got two more easy baskets, including a layup by Jamon Gordon off a Will Frisby turnover to push the lead to 69-62 with 0:59 left.

Miami missed all four of its field goals in the final minute.

The Hurricanes finished with 15 turnovers to just 9 assists, and connected on only 4-of-15 shooting from 3-point range.