Cameron Hildreth scored 16 of his game-high 31 points in the first half as Wake Forest defeated host Miami 88-78 in the Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Saturday night.
Wake Forest (12-4, 4-1 ACC), which is 5-1 in its past six games, had a 50-20 advantage on paint points. The Demon Deacons also shot 54.7 percent from the floor.
Hildreth made 11-of-16 shots, including 6-of-8 on 3-pointers. Hunter Sallis added 22 points, 15 in the second half for the Demon Deacons, including 11 straight points late in the game. It was his fifth straight game with at leat 20 points.
Wake Forest also got 17 points from Tre’Von Spillers on 8-for-11 shooting.
Matthew Cleveland led Miami with 22 points, and teammate Brandon Johnson grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. For other Hurricanes players scored in double figures, led by 13 points from Jalil Bethea.
The Hurricanes are the only ACC team that is winless in league play (4-12, 0-5). Miami has lost five straight games overall and 14 in a row in the conference.
The Hurricanes played without their top two point guards: Nijel Pack (foot injury) and freshman backup Divine Ugochukwu (left hip). Pack began he day leading Miami in points and assists per game.
The first half — which featured eight lead changes and four ties — was fairly even until Wake Forest scored the final five points to take a 39-31 lead into intermission.
For Miami, the three big transfers it brought in before the season — Lynn Kidd, Johnson and Jalen Blackmon — combined for just two points in the first half. They totaled 10 for the game, seven by Kidd.
Wake Forest controlled most of the second half, but Miami made a run and cut its deficit to 69-61 with 6:21 left.
Miami got a bit closer on Cleveland’s three-point play with 4:08 left, cutting the Hurricanes’ deficit to 75-68.
But Wake Forest held on, limiting Miami to 40.3 percent shooting for the game.
It doesn’t get any easier for Miami, which plays again Tuesday at fourth-ranked Duke. Wake Forest returns home to take on Stanford on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
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