UM overcomes flight delay, double-digit deficit, wins 76-72 road game at Wake Forest
Seven-and-a-half-hour flight delay? No problem.
Double-digit deficit on the road? No worries.
The seemingly unflappable Miami Hurricanes once again relied on their experience and maturity, rallied in the second half, and beat Wake Forest 76-72 on Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C. It was UM’s second win in 13 road games against the Demon Deacons, and first under coach Jim Larranaga.
It was also the fourth time this season UM overcame a double-digit deficit and 10th time the team won after trailing in the second half.
With the win, Miami improved to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in the ACC, leapfrogging Wake Forest into a third-place conference tie with North Carolina.
Getting there was as difficult as winning the game.
The Hurricanes boarded their flight in Miami at 2 p.m. Friday, but there were mechanical issues, so the team de-planed and didn’t wind up taking off until 9:30 p.m. While they awaited a new plane to show up, they took the team bus to Outback Steakhouse in Westland Mall in Hialeah for dinner. They loaded up on appetizers, had a leisurely, hearty meal, returned to the airport and didn’t get to Winston-Salem until 11:30 p.m.
“They handled that adversity with such class,” Larranaga said of his players, four of whom are sixth-year seniors. “They didn’t get upset. They didn’t start complaining. They went to dinner as a team, had a lot of laughs, enjoyed it…we didn’t get to our hotel ‘til midnight. When a team handles adversity the way we did (Friday), and then in the game, when adversity hit, they handled it the same way. They were calm. And down the stretch every starter made a big play, one right after the other.”
Jordan Miller had a tip-in at crunch time. Charlie Moore made a three to close the gap from 10 points to one with 12 minutes to go. Sam Waardenburg got a steal and a layup to give Miami a 63-61 lead with five minutes to go. And then Kameron McGusty and Isaiah Wong attacked the basket with abandon in the closing minutes.
McGusty led the Hurricanes with 22 points and Wong added 20. Both were 8-of-14 from the floor. Wong also had seven rebounds. Waardenburg chipped in 12 points.
One of the keys to Miami’s victory was that the Canes forced the Demon Deacons into 17 turnovers and held a 19-0 edge in points off turnovers.
“In the second half our defense was outstanding in terms of forcing turnovers and converting the turnovers into points,” Larranaga said. “That’s been our strategy throughout the season. We made a concerted effort during the off-season of scrambling, pressuring the ball, trap, rotate and hustle because we lack size.”
He said that style of defense was critical against a Wake Forest team that was much taller and stronger physically than the Hurricanes. The Demon Deacons were 9-of-21 from three-point range and shot 55 percent, but the turnovers did them in.
ACC Player of the Year candidate Alondes Williams, who leads the conference in scoring and assists, finished with 25 points, but he had seven turnovers due to Miami’s pressure. The Demon Deacons, who fell to 20-6 overall and 10-5 in the league.
“We’re not big enough to just stay back and rebound with other teams,” Larranaga said. “If we don’t force turnovers, we’re going to struggle defensively. But when we are forcing turnovers and we’re pretty darn good in the open court converting those, that makes a huge difference. It’s hard for the opponent to make up for those points.”
Miller, a starter who missed the previous game with a leg injury, came off the bench and made key contributions in 27 minutes.
The Hurricanes head to Louisville on Wednesday, another place Larranaga has never won. He hopes to reverse that trend like he did on Saturday at Wake Forest.
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 6:49 PM.