Wong scores 27, thanks Mom as UM clinches double-bye in ACC tourney with road win at BC
Miami Hurricanes guard Isaiah Wong was struggling with his shot recently and getting frustrated, so he turned to the person he always turns to when he needs a lift – his mother, LaChelle.
She and her second-oldest son Terrence met Isaiah at the UM gym earlier this week and worked with him until the wee hours. The family shootarounds paid dividends.
Wong scored a season-high 27 points and tied a career-high five three pointers to lead the Hurricanes to an 81-70 road win at Boston College late Wednesday night.
With the victory, Miami clinched a double-bye to the quarterfinals of next week’s ACC tournament in Brooklyn, New York.
“My mom and brother have been helping me late nights working on my shot, so I just want to say thank you to them because I was having issues this whole season, but I had a good shooting day today and I want to thank my mom for that,” Wong said.
“She was like, `I don’t want you to go back to the old Zay, do you need anything?’ I said `I just need to get some shots up, work on my game,’ so she brought herself and my brother and we just shot around and my brother was rebounding for me. It felt good coming into this game, and I think it was because of what my mom did and how she helped me.”
Isaiah and his mother have always had a special bond. He signed his first contract with her when he was in elementary school. She drew up annual contracts for all four of her sons because she wanted to encourage them to set goals and give their best in academics, athletics, and life.
The Wongs are still signing contracts, and Isaiah and his teammates are one step closer to one of his goals – an ACC championship. UM is 21-9 and 13-6 in the ACC heading into Saturday’s regular season finale on the road at Syracuse Saturday.
He said earning a double-bye in the conference tournament will make a huge difference.
“Last year when we were in the tournament it was hard because we kept on winning, but we were playing back to back to back and it took a toll on everybody’s body,” Wong said. “With this double bye we’re going to feel refreshed, play with a lot of intensity coming in and play fewer games so that’s going to help us a lot.”
Wong found his shot in the opening minutes, scored nine in a row, had 12 points after five minutes, and 17 by halftime.
UM coach Jim Larranaga said he got a hint before the game that Wong might have a big night.
“Isaiah was on fire from start to finish and we were able to ride him the first half and then at a crucial time when Boston College was making a move on us,” the coach said. “I tend to listen to my coaching staff, and they told me `Isaiah’s going to have a big night.’ I don’t know how they knew, but they knew before the game. They said this was a game, the way Boston College plays defense, the way we play offense, that Isaiah should get a bundle of opportunities to score.”
The win was Larranaga’s 221st since joining UM, making him the winningest head coach in school history, breaking Bruce Hale’s record. He credited his longevity, and his assistant coaches and players for the milestone.
Wong was one of four Hurricanes in double figures. Jordan Miller went 8-of-10 for 18 points. Sam Waardenburg had 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kam McGusty finished with 10 points and four assists.
Point guard Charlie Moore, who transferred to UM from DePaul this season, had five assists, which brought his season total to 90, breaking the school record for assists in ACC play. Shane Larkin held the record with 87 assists during the 2012-13 Sweet 16 season.
Once again, as they have all season, the Hurricanes had excellent spacing, shared the ball, and played with composure. Larranaga was especially happy to see his forward and center, Miller and Waardenburg, combine for 34 points.
“Look at our four and five position, we had 18 and 16 points, and look at their field goal percentages, 13 for 17 from the field. Nobody does that. That’s hard to do. They’re so team oriented. The way we’ve played all season is share the ball, share the ball, share the ball. The most important thing is we earned that double bye in the ACC tournament, something we’ve fought hard for all season.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 12:18 AM.