Miami Stays Red Hot, Beats Wake Forest 96-87
The Miami Hurricanes improved to 13-4 in ACC play by knocking off the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 96-87.
It was a blistering pace for much of the contest, and one that featured some big-time performances.
Despite Miami going up 7-0 to start the game, and forward Norchad Omier scoring five of those points, Wake Forest came right back. That was a theme throughout the basketball game.
Guard Damari Monsanto connected on two 3-point shots by the 16:46 mark of the opening half. This was going to be a shootout; a game of mini-runs by both teams.
The most important run was actually by Miami’s leading scorer, Isaiah Wong.
With 5:42 left in the opening half, Wong knocked down a jumper and was fouled. He started a 13-point scoring spree that concluded with 3:53 to go in the first half.
Big mood when you go on a 13-0 run in less than 2 minutes of action 😤😤@zaywong21 pic.twitter.com/N8Atej9U94
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) February 18, 2023
That’s just 1:49 off the clock for Wong to show just how explosive he’s proven to be.
By halftime, Miami was up 47-44 and had been shooting at a torrid pace, having hit 20 of its 30 shots. Incredibly, Wake Forest was almost as good from the floor, going 13 of 26, including 7-19 from behind the 3-point arc.
Indeed the downtown shots had helped to keep the Demon Deacons in this game. It still was not enough as Miami exploded again in the second stanza.
Wong scored seven points to open the early portion of the second half, and Nigel Pack drilled a 3-point jump shot to put the Canes up 56-44 with 18:20 to play.
When Pack stole the basketball and added the subsequent slam dunk at the other end of the basketball court with 13:05 to play, The U had gone up 68-57.
The Demon Deacons just could not quite keep up with the Hurricanes, especially the incredible shooting.
Miami was at 28 of 44 for 63.6% with 10:57 to go, and that number continued to be really good until the end with Miami finishing 37 of 63 from the floor for 58.7%. Wake Forest finished 32 of 58 for 55.2%.
For the game, Wong finished with 27, Pack scored 24, and Omier ended with 17.
Chipping in with 14 was Jordan Miller, who also had a key role in slowing down Wake Forest’s Monsanto after his two early 3-point buckets. He finished only 4 of 12 from the floor to get to 14 points.
Even when Wake Forest big man Matthew Marsh dunked the ball to bring the score to 71-68, Pack came up with a clutch 3-point basket to extend the lead to 74-68 a few moments later.
Next, back-to-back turnovers by Wake Forest’s Tyree Appleby allowed Miami to go up 10 with 5:53 to play. Appleby came back with a vengeance, as he blew by the Canes’ defense and threw down a one-handed jam.
The Demon Deacons made a late-game run that cut the lead to 83-78. Then, once again, Pack made a huge play to counter the brilliant play of Appleby by knocking his fourth triple of the ball game.
Even with all five of Wake Forest's starters scoring in double figures, Miami was the superior team today.
Miami secured its sixth ACC victory in a row, and went to 13-4 overall in the conference. For the next game, Miami travels to play Virginia Tech on Tuesday night.
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