Wake Forest Falls in Back-And-Forth Battle to Miami
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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons fought valiantly against the Miami Hurricanes but ultimately came away unsuccessful. This game was back-and-forth the entire way, with Wake jumping out to the early lead before Miami battled back and took the game away at the end. Let's go through the highlights.
1st Half Highlights
The Deacs started the game off hot. They jumped out to a 17-10 advantage through seven minutes of play. Nate Calmese left off where he was last game. He hit his first 3 three-point field goals, and Myles Colvin also made an impact with yet another highlight dunk.
When it was all said and done, despite the early seven point advantage, Miami had a one-point lead at the break. They dominated the boards, and Wake Forest was unable to get any second-chance points in the first half.
2nd Half Highlights
The second half was tightly contested the whole way through, with neither team extending their advantage to over six points. Wake Forest shot a very good 52% from three. Miami only shot 22% from three, but did outscore Wake on points in the paint 42-20. Malik Reneau has led the Canes all season and had 18 points tonight.
Miami point guard Tre Donaldson hurt the Deacs, scoring 21 points on 7-10 from the field. Miami won the total rebound battle 37-20 and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. They certainly won this game on the inside, frequently outmuscling the Deacs.
For Wake Forest, Juke Harris played another exceptional second half, scoring 28 points overall with four three-pointers. Nate Calmese finished with 19 points, and Colvin chipped in with 13. The Deacs got very little production from their bigs again, which is a major reason for the loss. Wake went 4-10 on layups, which hurts, but they did score a solid 1.185 points per possession.
Near the end of the game, Wake built a five-point advantage, but Miami went on a 10-0 run to quickly jump back in front. When the game was tied with under a minute to go, Miami generated a Wake turnover while trying to get the ball in bounds. With a chance to tie the game, Juke Harris missed two free throws. Mistakes were what ultimately ended up costing Wake Forest in this one.
This is yet another winnable game that slipped through the Deacs' fingers. They definitely showed flashes and probably deserved to come away successful, but good offense was not enough to overcome poor defense inside. Next up is a BIg Four rivalry game at North Carolina,
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Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.