Miami gains rare victory at Wake Forest
Kameron McGusty scored a team-high 22 points as the Miami Hurricanes earned a rare win at Wake Forest, 76-72 in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Hurricanes had a 19-0 advantage in points off turnovers. Miami’s Isaiah Wong added 20 points, including a tough mid-range jumper off the glass with 11.4 seconds left that secured the win.
Miami (18-7, 10-4) won at Winston-Salem for the first time since Feb. 9, 2011. The Hurricanes are now 2-11 at Wake Forest. Jim Larranaga, in his 11th season as Miami’s coach, won his first game at Wake on Saturday.
Wake (20-6, 10-5) had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Deacons are 9-4 this calendar year, but half of their losses in that span have come against Miami.
The Deacons, who are 13-2 at home this season, were led Saturday by Alondes Williams, who had a game-high 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 on 3-pointers. However, he was charged with seven turnovers.
Daivien Williamson added 12 points for Wake.
Miami also got 12 points from Sam Waardenburg, and Canes guard Charlie Moore was held to three.
Jordan Miller, who missed Miami’s previous game due to an injured right knee, played as a reserve instead of his usual starting role. He entered the game with 15:38 left in first half and had an impressive dunk early. He finished with eight points.
Miami had mechanical issues on its plane ride and did not arrive in North Carolina until Friday at midnight.
In the first half, Wake led by as many as 13 points, but Miami fought back and trailed 40-33 at halftime. McGusty led all first-half scorers with 12 points.
Miami took its first lead of the second half on Miller’s layup off a back-door cut with 10:37 left.
The Hurricanes kept coming, taking a 56-52 lead on a 10-0 run. The game was tight from there, but Miami made the big shots at the end, including a 3-pointer and a layup by McGusty in the final two minutes.
For the game, Miami shot 51.7 percent from the floor, including 7-for-18 on 3-pointers. Wake shot 54.9 percent from the floor, including 9-for-21 on 3-pointers. Wake turned the ball over 17 times.
–Field Level Media