Walker Leads No. 25 Miami To 87-81 Win Over Wake Forest
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CORAL GABLES (CBSMiami/AP) — A big second half helped the up-and-down Miami Hurricanes to a much-needed ACC win.
Lonnie Walker IV scored 19 points to lead No. 25 Miami to an 87-81 victory over Wake Forest on Wednesday night.
Walker's 3-pointer with 5:01 remaining capped a 10-2 run and gave the Hurricanes a 66-56 lead.
Miami withstood a late Demon Deacons comeback attempt fueled by consecutive 3s from Bryant Crawford in the final minute. Crawford's second long-range shot with 31 seconds left pulled Wake Forest to 82-79.
Sam Waardenburg's two free throws with 25 seconds to go made it 84-79. Chaundee Brown cut the Demon Deacons' deficit to three again, but Walker's two free throws with eight seconds left sealed it for Miami (18-5, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Ja'Quan Newton had 16 points, 12 in the second half, and Chris Lykes scored 13 for the Hurricanes. Waardenburg added 12 points and Dewan Huell had 10.
Consecutive 3-pointers from Waardenburg and Lykes kept Miami with a double-digit advantage. Lykes' shot from behind the arc extended the Hurricanes' lead to 74-61 with 2:40 remaining.
Crawford scored 23 points and Brown finished with 20 for Wake Forest (9-15, 2-10). The Demon Deacons have lost nine of their last 10 conference games. Wake Forest also has a six-game road losing streak.
BIG PICTURE
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons lost their 21st straight road game against a ranked opponent. Wake Forest's last road victory over a Top 25 team was at No. 24 North Carolina in 2009-10.
Miami: Walker scored in double figures for the eighth consecutive game. He is averaging 18 points per game during the stretch.
UP NEXT
Wake Forest: Complete a two-game road trip Sunday at Syracuse.
Miami: Play at Boston College on Saturday.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)