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BASKETBALL

After Losing To Miami 85-57 In Coral Gables Florida Tuesday North Carolina Is Looking To Rebound As They Play Wake Forest In Winston -Salem Tonight

After losing to Miami 57-85 in Coral Gables Florida Tuesday North Carolina is looking to rebound as they play Wake Forest in Winston -Salem tonight.

North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 12-5 4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is fifth in the standings because they lost to Miami 57-85 earlier in the week.

In North Carolina’s 57-85 loss to Miami in Coral Gables Florida Isaiah Wong scored 25 points, Sam Waardenburg set a career high with 21 points and Miami led by 27 points at halftime en route to an 85-57 victory over North Carolina on Tuesday night.
Miami ended a five-game losing streak in the series with their largest margin of victory over the Tar Heels. Miami led 49-22 at the break — matching North Carolina's largest halftime deficit since 2010 against Duke.

Miami scored 14 unanswered points early in the first half, with two 3-pointers by Waardenburg, for a 16-5 lead and the Hurricanes led by at least eight points the rest of the way. Waardenburg had 11 points in the opening nine minutes to match North Carolina's total, and his dunk later in the half made it 39-18 after his sixth straight made basket.

Waardenburg scored 17 points in the first half, Wong added 15 points and Kameron McGusty had 12 as the Hurricanes shot 58.1% from the field, including 8 of 14 from 3-point range. North Carolina was just 7-of-31 shooting (22.6%) in the half with 10 turnovers.

Miami held Armando Bacot, who entered with back-to-back 29-point games, to just three points in the first half after playing 16 minutes due to two fouls.

The lead reached 33 points in the second half.

McGusty finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double this year for Miami (14-4, 6-1 ACC), which has won 10 of its last 11 games.

Armando Bacot had 15 points and 12 rebounds for North Carolina (12-5, 4-2). He landed hard on the court with 5:01 left in the second half and stayed down for a few minutes before gingerly walking off. UNC head coach Hubert Davis was hopeful after the game that Bacot had not suffered any serious injury.

“according to an article by the Associated Press on goheels.com”

Wake Forest comes into the game with a record of 15-4 while they’re 5-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and sixth in the standings because unlike North Carolina Wake Forest won their game earlier in the week when they on at Georgia Tech 80-64 on Wednesday. In Wake Forest 80-64 win over Georgia Tech The Wake Forest men's basketball team defeated Georgia Tech, 80-64, on Wednesday evening for the team's first victory in McCamish Pavilion and first victory at Georgia Tech since 2004.

In total, the Wake Forest (15-4, 5-3 ACC) defense held Georgia Tech (7-10, 1-6 ACC) to 38.5 percent shooting (25-of-65) and forced 15 turnovers, the most turnovers the team has forced against an ACC opponent this season. The Demon Deacons have now held five of their first eight ACC opponents to below-40 percent shooting.

The Demon Deacon offense shot 56.9 percent from the field (33-of-58) thanks to 23 assists, their third game this season with at least 20 assists. This marks the first time Wake Forest has tallied at least 20-plus assists in multiple games since the 2016-17 campaign. Additionally, it is the first time since the 2001-02 season that the Deacs have recorded 20-plus assists in multiple ACC games.

Alondes Williams and Jake LaRavia led the charge with nine assists, while Carter Whitt recorded a trio of dimes with Whitt's assists all coming during a crucial point right before the halftime interval. 

Williams led Wake Forest with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Isaiah Mucius added in 18 points with a season-high eight made field goals, followed by LaRavia with 13 points. 

Dallas Walton and Daivien Williamson rounded out double-figure scores with 11 apiece, marking the fourth contest this season with five Demon Deacons reaching double figures.

In his first game as a Demon Deacon, Damari Monsanto recorded six points with a pair of three pointers. Additionally, Monsanto pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and blocked two shots. 

How It Happened

  • Dallas Walton scored the Deacs' first four points of the contest.

  • Damari Monsanto cashed in his first points as a Demon Deacon from downtown, his triple giving Wake Forest a 13-10 lead with 12:27 on the clock. 

  • Daivien Williamson's first triple of the night extended the Deacs' lead to 20-16 with just over eight minutes remaining until halftime. 

    • A minute later, Williamson connected on a turnaround jumper to put the team up 24-18 going into the under-8 timeout.

  • Alondes Williams knocked down a field goal from beyond the arc, bringing the team's lead to 27-21 with just over five minutes until the intermission.

  • Carter Whitt found Williams and Isaiah Mucius at the rim for dunks on consecutive possessions, Mucius' dunk providing the Deacs with a seven-point lead (35-28) with 1:36 remaining in the opening period. 

  • Whitt knocked down a floater as time expired to give Wake Forest a 37-33 lead going into halftime.

    • Seven of the eight Demon Deacons who saw the floor in the first half scored, led by Isaiah Mucius'eight points. As a whole, the team shot 16-of-29 from the field (0.552) in the first half, with 11 of 16 baskets coming off assists. 

    • On the other end, the Deacs held the Yellow Jackets to 40 percent shooting in the first half (14-of-35) and forced eight turnovers. 

  • Walton again struck first in the second half, this time with a hookshot. 

  • Mucius drained his first three-pointer of the contest to put an end to an 8-2 Georgia Tech run that tied the game at 41.

    • Moments later, Mucius answered a Yellow Jacket triple with his own triple to give Wake Forest a 47-44 lead with 15:28 remaining in the game. 

  • Monsanto knocked down his second triple and Williams rolled in a layup on the next possession to retake the lead (54-51) with just under 12 minutes to go in regulation.

    • Following a timeout, LaRavia chipped in a basket to complete a 7-0 run and extend the team's lead to five (56-51) with 11:20 remaining in the contest.

  • Walton converted a three-point play at the free throw line, extending the Deacs' lead to six (59-53) with 9:33 on the game clock. 

  • Williams bookended a 10-0 run with a layup and pair of makes at the stripe to give Wake Forest a 69-56 advantage with under six minutes until the final buzzer.

    • Williamson and LaRavia each contributed three points during the run.

  • Williamson's third three-pointer of the night extended the Deacs' lead to 16 (74-58) with four minutes left to play.

    • The Wake Forest defense held Georgia Tech to just two points over four and a half minutes of game time. 

  • After Mucius scored the final four points of the contest, Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech, 80-64.

Key Moment
The Deacs were locked into a back-and-forth battle with the Yellow Jackets for much of the second half, until the team was finally able to separate themselves thanks to a 10-0 run inside the closing minutes of the game.

The run came in response to a Georgia Tech layup that narrowed the Deacs' lead to three (59-56) with 8:31 left in the game. Alondes Williams opened the run with a layup and pair of makes from the free throw line, and received help from Williamson and LaRavia, who each contributed three points. 

The Wake Forest defense held Georgia Tech to just 2-of-8 shooting and forced five turnovers over the final eight minutes of the second half. 

Stat of the Game
Wake Forest dished out 23 assists tonight against Georgia Tech, their third game this season with at least 20 assists. This marks the first time Wake Forest has tallied at least 20-plus assists in three games since the 2016-17 campaign. 

  • Additionally, this marks the first time since the 2001-02 season that the Deacs have recorded 20-plus assists in multiple games in ACC play

    “according to an article on godeac.com”

    Tip off is set for 8:00pm from Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum!

    The game is going to be televised on ACC Network!