CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Wake Forest men’s basketball team fell to Miami 92-84 on Saturday evening inside Watsco Center.
Five Demon Deacons (11-3, 1-2 ACC) finished in double figures, while Wake Forest shot 54.7 percent from the field as the team battled until the final seconds.
Jake LaRavia continued his strong production with a team-high 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go with seven rebounds and six assists. This marks the fourth game this season LaRavia has led the Deacs in scoring and the ninth double-digit scoring performance.
Isaiah Mucius connected on a game and season-high five three-pointers to finish with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists. Alondes Williams registered 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting to go along with six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block.
Dallas Walton (13) and Khadim Sy (11) rounded out double-digit scorers for the Deacs.. The pair shot a combined 10-of-12 from the floor and hauled in nine rebounds.
In all 14 games this season, Wake Forest has had at least three players finish in double figures. Additionally, this marks the third time this season five Demon Deacons have scored at least 10 points.
How It Happened
Dallas Walton got the Demon Deacons started with a layup following an offensive rebound by Jake LaRavia.
Khadim Sy netted a two-point jump shot to cut the Miami lead to two with 15:52 remaining in the first half.
With 10:52 left in the first half, LaRavia snatched his own rebound for a put-back to end the Deacs’ scoring drought.
Walton converted twice on back-to-back possessions to help Wake Forest cut into the Miami lead.
The Deacs got their first three-pointer to go courtesy of Isaiah Mucius with 8:15 left to play in the first half.
LaRavia was the first Deac to hit double figures as his layup gave him 10 points and cut the Wake Forest deficit to 10 with 7:34 to go.
Walton netted his first shot from beyond the arc to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to seven with 3:02 left in the half.
Alondes Williams scored on back-to-back possessions to give him his first points of the game and bring the Deacs back within five heading into the break.
Wake Forest headed into intermission connecting on their last 10 field goal attempts (21 points) over the final 6:13 of the first half.
LaRavia led the way with eight points during the stretch. Dallas Walton poured in five points with a dunk and three-pointer, while Williams tallied the final four points on a pair of layups.
Mucius and Williamson opened up second-half scoring for the Deacs with a pair of baskets from downtown, narrowing the Hurricanes’ lead to three (47-44) with 18:22 left to play.
Williamson and Williams followed up with another pair of triples, the second bringing the Deacs within two points of Miami’s lead (52-50) with just over 16 minutes remaining in the final period.
LaRavia snapped a 7-0 Miami run with his seventh field goal, bringing Wake Forest within seven points of the Hurricanes’ lead (59-52).
Mucius drained his third three-pointer to cap off a 7-0 Demon Deacon run that brought the deficit back down to one possession (64-61) with 12:27 to play.
Mucius nailed his fourth triple a minute later in response to a three from Miami, again narrowing the deficit to three (69-66) with 11:04 remaining in the contest.
Mucius’ fifth triple with 9:44 on the clock cut the Deacs’ deficit to three points (72-69).
LaRavia tallied a dunk and Walton went 2-for-2 from the stripe to make it a six-point contest (80-74) with just over five minutes left.
Mucius rolled in a layup in transition and found Williams for an alley-oop in transition on the following possession to cut Miami’s lead to three (81-78) with 3:47 remaining in the game.
Williams scored on a put-back layup to keep the score within one possession (83-80) with 3:12 to go.
Williams drained his second triple to cut Miami’s lead to four (88-84) with 39 seconds left.
Wake Forest eventually fell to Miami, 92-84
Stat of the Game
Five Demon Deacons finished in double-digits tonight against Miami, the third time this season five Demon Deacons have scored at least 10 points this season.
Jake LaRavia:19
Isaiah Mucius: 17
Alondes Williams: 15
Dallas Walton: 13
Khadim Sy: 11
Overall, Wake Forest has had at least three players score in double figures in all 14 games in 2021-22.
Coach’s Comments
“First of all I want to give credit to Miami. We knew coming in that we would have a hard time defending them, though I didn’t think we would have that hard of a time. Charlie Moore started off making shots, and we didn’t make him uncomfortable. He hit a couple of tough shots but he got Miami going and Jordan Miller made some threes early to get a good lead in the first half to force us to play from behind the entire game.
I don’t think I’ve ever coached a team that didn’t get a kill the entire game. Obviously, it was our inability to guard the ball. We tried to be gapped up early in the game to strip and rip and they drove and kicked for three-pointers. So we got a little more huggy in the second half and they drove it to the basket. We tried to play a little zone but we could never get them under control. I didn’t like the way we played offense to start the game, I thought the ball stuck and we took contested shots instead of getting the ball inside and driving to the basket. You can’t win that way” – head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest returns home to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for three-straight ACC games beginning with a matchup against Florida State on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
Tipoff in LJVM is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air live on Bally Sports South and other regional sports networks.
