The University of Miami men’s basketball team concluded the 2020-21 regular season by defeating Boston College, 80-76, Friday night.

Redshirt senior guard Kameron McGusty scored a season- and game-high 27 points to lead the Hurricanes, who again had only six available scholarship players, on Senior Night at the Watsco Center.

“To me, Senior Night is very, very special and you want your seniors to go out on a positive note,” Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga said after becoming the 16th coach to log 100 ACC wins (regular season or tournament). “It’s their last home game and we’ve always put a lot of emphasis on honoring our seniors by playing really, really hard and really well on their behalf.”

The Hurricanes held Boston College (4-15, 2-11 ACC) without a point for the first 3:36 and jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The sides played relatively even the rest of the half, with Miami (8-16, 4-15 ACC) never falling behind and taking a 34-31 edge into the locker room.

Redshirt senior center Nysier Brooks scored 16 points—already a season best and one shy of a career high—in the opening 20 minutes. McGusty added 12 first-half points for the Hurricanes, as the veterans stepped up with leading scorer Isaiah Wong, a sophomore guard, limited to zero points in just seven first-half minutes because of early foul trouble.

The Eagles notched seven of the opening 10 points in the second half to take their first lead, 38-37, with 17:52 to play, but Miami quickly answered. The Hurricanes went on a 7-0 run, sparked by a 3-pointer from Wong, to go up, 44-38, just 94 seconds later.

The Hurricanes extended their edge to a game-high nine points, 66-57, with exactly 8:00 on the clock, after making five consecutive field goals. They then, though, went scoreless for four-plus minutes with seven straight misses, while Boston College posted an 11-0 run, featuring a trio of 3-pointers, to take a 68-66 advantage with 3:40 to play.

McGusty countered with seven straight points, beginning a 9-0 run that gave Miami a 75-68 edge with 1:49 to go. The Eagled eventually sliced their deficit to three, 79-76, on a 3-pointer with 6.4 ticks left, but Wong iced the game with a free throw at the other end.

McGusty’s 27 points, one shy of his career high, came on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, as he tied a career best in in makes. The Katy, Texas, native, who had nine of Miami’s final 14 points, shot 4-of-7 beyond the arc, good for a season high in made 3-pointers, and hit all five of his free throws. He added a co-team-high five assists in the victory.

Brooks finished with a career-best 21 points, logging an 8-of-11 mark from the field and a 5-of-8 tally at the line. His eight made field goals set a career high, while his team-best three blocks set a season high.

“To have two of [our seniors] have career nights, Nysier Brooks and Kam McGusty, was really special,” Larrañaga said. “I’m very, very happy for them. I’m happy for the team. I’m happy that we’re going into the ACC Tournament on a win.”

Sophomore forward Anthony Walker tallied 17 points, one off his career best, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out a career-high four assists. Wong finished with nine points and five assists, while senior guard Elijah Olaniyi, who sat for just 15 seconds, co-led all players with eight rebounds.

Senior forward/center James Karnik paced the Eagles with 15 points and connected on all nine of his free throws, while junior guard Makai Ashton-Langford notched 13 points and a game-high eight assists. Sophomore forward Kamari Williams tallied 11 points, as did redshirt senior forward Frederick Scott, who added a co-game-best eight rebounds.

Sophomore forward CJ Felder notched 10 points and six blocked shots, the latter mark the most by a Miami opponent all season. Sophomore guard Jay Heath, the Eagles’ leading scorer, chipped in 10 points, but the Hurricanes limited him to 4-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-10 from deep. Boston College became the first team to have six double-digit scorers against Miami since Florida State on Jan. 27, 2018.

The two sides finished with nearly identical field goal percentages, as Miami logged a 42.9 clip (27-of-63) and Boston College recorded a 41.9 mark (26-of-62). The Eagles had a better free-throw percentage, shooting 15-of-18 for an 83.3 clip, but Miami, at 19-of-26 (73.1 percent), finished plus-four in points from the line, the difference in final score.

With the regular season complete, the Hurricanes now head to Greensboro, N.C., for the ACC Tournament. There, they begin play Tuesday at a to-be-determined time against a to-be-determined opponent.