Malik Reneau, Tre Donaldson and Miami look to continue their strong play on Wednesday when they visit Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.
In the Hurricanes’ last outing, a 76-69 victory over Pitt on Dec. 30, Reneau overcame first-half foul trouble to score 17 of his season-high 28 points after intermission. The victory was the seventh in a row for Miami (12-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) and boosted the squad into the NET’s top 40.
Reneau averages a team-best 20.9 points in his first season with the Hurricanes after spending three years at Indiana.
Donaldson, who played at Auburn and Michigan before joining Miami for his senior year, scored 19 points versus the Panthers. He averages 15.5 points and a team-best 6.7 assists this season for the Hurricanes, who are much improved after limping to a 7-24 record in 2024-25.
“And that’s why those guys are here,” said first-year Miami head coach Jai Lucas. “You know what I mean, that’s why you go find guys in the portal who played big-time basketball in big environments.”
“Tre’s won the Big Ten championship, been in the Sweet 16. Malik played in the Big Ten. So you know they are playing the big games in Indiana, which is blue blood, so they have some type of substance about it in games like this where they won’t necessarily be afraid.”
Wake Forest (10-5, 1-1) snapped its first two-game losing skid with an 81-78 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Nate Calmese capped a season-high 25-point performance by draining a stepback 3-pointer and two free throws in the waning moments of the game. It was quite the improvement for Calmese, who did not score a point in the Demon Deacons’ 70-57 loss to North Carolina State on New Year’s Eve.
Tre’Von Spillers, who was limited to four points versus the Wolfpack, scored 15 points against the Hokies.
“I was really proud of their bounce-back,” Demon Deacons head coach Steve Forbes said. “This is the thing about playing in the ACC … you’ve gotta move onto the next game, a lot can happen. It’s a hard league. It’s a better league this year. This is a great opportunity for us to win here. We have a great (game) coming up for us on Wednesday.”
Juke Harris boasts team-best averages in points (19.4) and rebounds (6.6), while Calmese contributes 5.1 assists for the Demon Deacons.
–Field Level Media
