CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team (3-5) fell narrowly to the Arkansas Razorbacks (6-2), 76-73, in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night at the Watsco Center.

The veteran Miami guards led the Hurricanes on offense 3-5, with sophomore Nijel Pack (22), senior Matthew Cleveland (15) and senior Jalen Blackmon (12) all scoring in double figures.

Cleveland recorded its first double-double of the season with 15 points and ten rebounds.

The Hurricanes got off to a hot start thanks to Pack and Cleveland, who scored a total of 12 and 11 points in the first half alone. As a team, Miami shot 50 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, with six different Hurricanes scoring a point.

The Hurricanes outscored the Razorbacks 18-17 on defense and held Arkansas to 41.9 percent shooting in the first half. Miami forced seven turnovers down the court and turned those takeaways into 11 points.

The Hurricanes entered halftime with eight points (40-32), but the Razorbacks slowly chipped away at Miami’s lead in the second half. Arkansas went on a 9-2 run to cut the visitors’ deficit to 51-49 with 13:22 left to play.

Blackmon pushed Miami’s lead back to eight by knocking down two consecutive 3-pointers, but the Razorbacks scored 15 of the next 20 points to take their first lead at 74-71 with 1:42 to play.

With three seconds left, Blackmon had a three-pointer to tie the game, but missed to left and the Razorbacks were able to win 73-73.

The Hurricanes open ACC play on Saturday, hosting the Clemson Tigers at the Watsco Center. The game begins at 12 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Courtesy of Miami Athletics