UM shrugs off adversity, 10-point deficit on road
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, North Carolina. It was UM’s second win in 13 road games against the Demon Deacons, and first under coach Jim Larrañaga.
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,” Larrañaga 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,” Larrañaga 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.
Top 25 team in three consecutive games.
No. 17 Michigan St. 76, Indiana 61: Malik Hall scored 18 points and Tyson Walker came off the bench to add 15 as the host Spartans (18-6, 9-4 Big Ten) snapped a two-game losing streak and beat the Hoosiers (16-8, 7-7 Big Ten).
No. 23 Murray St. 57, Morehead St. 53: Tevin Brown made a go-ahead layup with 16 seconds remaining and KJ Williams added two free throws 12 seconds later as the Racers (24-2, 14-0 Ohio Valley Conference) rallied to beat the Eagles (19-8, 11-3).
AASTATE SCHOOLS
North Carolina 94, Florida State 74: Caleb Love scored 18 points and the host Tar Heels (18-7, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) used a dominating first half, including scoring the first 18 points of the game, to roll over the Seminoles
AACC 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 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,” Larrañaga 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 Larrañaga has never won. He hopes to reverse that trend like he did on Saturday at Wake Forest.
Michelle Kaufman: 305-376-3438, @kaufsports
(13-11, 6-8),.
Cam’Ron Fletcher scored 16 points with 10 rebounds and RayQuan Evans scored 13 for Florida State, which lost its sixth straight after winning five straight, including an overtime win over Duke. FSU has been struggling with injuries and lost leading scorer Caleb Mills (13.3) to an ankle injury 7 1⁄2 minutes into the game.
WOMEN’S TOP 25
No. 7 Indiana 76, Michigan State 58: Grace Berger scored a career-high 29 points to lead the host Hoosiers (18-3, 10-1 Big Ten) past the Spartans (13-11, 7-6).
No. 9 Iowa St. 93, TCU 70: Ashley Joens scored a season-high 32 points while Emily Ryan recorded a career-best 17 assists, leading the Cyclones (21-3, 10-2) over the host Horned Frogs (6-15, 2-10).
AA