SMU star Boopie Miller stuns Virginia with wild buzzer-beater

March came early for Boopie Miller and SMU.

The Mustangs absolutely stunned Virginia on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena after Miller drained a ridiculous fade-away 3-pointer right before the buzzer. The shot, which sent him falling into his own bench before a massive celebration broke out to quiet the Charlottesville crowd, lifted SMU to a 54-52 win.

The bucket was just the second of the night that Miller hit from behind the arc. He finished with 12 points and six rebounds to lead the Mustangs, who improved to 13-4 on the season and 4-2 in ACC play. Miller, a junior, has averaged a team-high 14.6 points and 5.9 assists per game this season.

The game was a defensive battle through and through. The Mustangs took a two-point lead at halftime, and then were held scoreless for a nearly five minute stretch late in the second half — which allowed Virginia to jump back ahead by five points after its long 12-0 run.

But Miller hit his first 3-pointer of the game with just nine seconds left on the clock to cut that deficit back to a single point, and then the Mustangs made a stop on the other end to set up their final inbounds play and Miller’s eventual game-winner.

Blake Buchanan led Virginia with 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench. Ishan Sharma added 10 points off the bench, too. They were the only two Cavaliers players to hit double figures. The team shot just 4-of-26 from the 3-point line, too. Virginia dropped to 8-9 on the season with the loss.

Chuck Harris added 12 points to go with Miller’s 12 for SMU. Samet Yigitoglu added 10 points and six rebounds, too. SMU, which has now won back-to-back games after losing two straight to both Duke and North Carolina, will take on Miami next on Saturday.