Despite a career-high scoring effort from senior captain Davon Reed, a slow start doomed the Miami Hurricanes against John Collins and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a 96-79 loss on Wednesday night.
The Hurricanes (12-5, 2-3 ACC) came into the game allowing just 59 points per contest to the opponent. The Demon Deacons’ (11-7, 2-4 ACC) point total is the most allowed by the Canes this season.
Reed dropped 24 points, and a UM run cut the lead to six with 3:50 left in the game, but the offense could only flow in small stretches, and it was not enough. Miami’s first field goal didn’t come until 5 minutes into the contest, when a Ja’Quan Newton layup ended a 9-1 Wake Forest opening spurt. The Hurricanes would never lead in the ball game.
Collins led the Demon Deacons, who led by as many as 23, with 27 points and seven rebounds.
Miami began to pick up the energy after falling behind by over 20 in the second half. The team defense threw in some full-court press, causing Wake Forest turnovers that turned into Miami points. A Dewan Huell and-one layup capped a 15-3 run and cut the deficit to a mere 10 points with just under 13 minutes to play, but Wake Forest would come right back to increase its lead.
The same pattern prevailed over the final minutes: The Hurricanes would make a push to get the score within striking distance, and then the Demon Deacons would respond with a mini-run of its own.
The Deacs hit 58 percent of its shots, compared to just 43 percent shooting for the Canes.
UM looks to regroup quickly, as it faces arguably its toughest test of the season so far when the team takes on the No. 18 Duke Blue Devils at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium.