CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team used an efficient offensive attack to withstand Wake Forest’s scorching 3-point shooting in a 96-87victory Saturday afternoon at the Watsco Center.
Fourth-year junior guard Isaiah Wong recorded a game-best 27 points for No. 15/13 Miami (22-5, 13-4 ACC), as the Hurricanes posted their sixth consecutive victory and moved to 15-0 on their home court.
Third-year sophomore forward Norchad Omier scored Miami’s first nine points, including the game’s opening seven, to help the Hurricanes build an 11-3 edge after fewer than three minutes. The Hurricanes started 11-of-14 through 11 minutes, including hitting four shots in a row, but led just 25-24, as Wake Forest (17-10, 9-7 ACC) opened 9-of-12 through nine minutes at the other end.
The Demon Deacons took a 32-29 lead with 6:01 left in the half, but Wong exploded for a personal 13-0 run in just 1:52, flipping the score into a then-game-high 10-point Miami lead, 42-32, with 3:53 on the clock. At that point, the Hurricanes were a blistering 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the floor as a team.
Wake Forest answered back with a 10-2 burst of its own and Miami eventually took a 47-44 advantage into the locker room behind 20-of-30 (66.7 percent) shooting. The Demon Deacons went 16-of-31 (51.6 percent) from the floor through 20 minutes, including 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) on 3-pointers, to go along with a perfect 5-of-5 mark at the stripe.
The Hurricanes scored the first 11 points of the second half, in just 2:15, to up their cushion to a game-best 14, 58-44, with 17:45 to go. Wake Forest trimmed the margin down to just three, 71-68, with 8:55 to go, but Miami recovered and pushed the advantage back to 12, 90-78, with just 3:12 remaining.
The Demon Deacons got no closer than six the rest of the way, as the Hurricanes won by nine and, despite having a non-conference game canceled in December, became the first ACC team to reach 22 victories this season.