McGusty, Wong rally Miami past Wake Forest 76-72

Feb 12, 2022, 10:15 pm

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- — Kameron McGusty scored 22 points and Isaiah Wong added 20, combining for 24 in the second half to rally Miami to a 76-72 win over Wake Forest on Saturday.

Wong had a pair of free throws to break a tie at 67 with 2:45 to go and McGusty followed with a 3-pointer with 90 seconds remaining. Alondes Williams made a layup for the Demon Deacons but McGusty answered that for a 74-69 lead with 45 seconds left.

Williams quickly responded with a three-point play but Wong nailed the clutch jumper to restore the two-possession game as the Hurricanes ran the clock down to 11 seconds.

Sam Waardenburg added 12 points for the Hurricanes (18-7, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won the first meeting 92-84 on Jan. 1.

It was also the 101st league win for Miami coach Jim Larranaga, who become the 14th ACC coach to reach 100 league wins on Wednesday. He is the first coach to reach 100 league wins with three Division I teams (George Mason, Bowling Green) and to do that in three different leagues.

Williams scored 25 points to lead Wake Forest (20-6, 10-5), which had won three straight and seven of eight. Daivien Williamson added 12 points.

Wake Forest was 9 of 21 from 3-point range and shot 55% (28 of 51) but was done in by 17 turnovers, 10 more than Miami, which turned those miscues into 19 points. The Demon Deacons had no points after turnovers.

Miami was 7 of 18 behind the arc and shot 52% (30 of 58).

Wake Forest led by as many as 13 points in the first half and was up 43-33 when Williams opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer. But a 10-0 run had Miami on top 56-52 midway through the half and it remained tight the rest of the way.

The Demon Deacons go to Duke on Tuesday, the Hurricanes head to Louisville on Wednesday.

------

For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and http://twitter.com/AP--Top25