No. 5 Wake Forest rallies past Miami

CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA - The outside shots kept missing, the inside game was throttled and the running game came to a standstill.<br> <br> As a last resort, Wake Forest dug in on defense.<br> <br> Criticized this season for their unbalanced approach, the No. 5-ranked Demon Deacons showed Tuesday they know more than one way to win by beating explosive Miami 68-63.<br> <br> ``Usually we can score,&#39;&#39; coach Skip Prosser said. ``Tonight when we didn&#39;t, our defense carried the day. It&#39;s nice to talk about a game we won because of how we guarded.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Tied at 33 at halftime, the Demon Deacons held Miami to 33 percent shooting in the second half. The Hurricanes finished 3-for-18 from 3-point range after making 13 3-pointers in a loss at Wake Forest last month.<br> <br> ``We knew they were really good 3-point shooters,&#39;&#39; Wake Forest center Eric Williams said. ``We tried to take the 3 away from them. We just decided that if they wanted to drive, drive, because we weren&#39;t going to give away any 3s.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Atlantic Coast Conference leader Wake Forest (22-3, 10-2) earned its sixth straight win, a streak that includes two victories over Miami (15-8, 6-6). But the latest win will be long forgotten by Sunday, when the Demon Deacons play at No. 7 Duke.<br> <br> ``Duke at Duke is a totally unique situation,&#39;&#39; Prosser said. ``I&#39;m guessing we&#39;ll run into a cauldron. But that&#39;s OK. That&#39;s our conference. Duke brings out the best or the worst in you.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Demon Deacons have reached 10 conference victories for only the second time in the past eight seasons. The latest win came despite their lowest point total since December, 18 points shy of its average of 86 per game.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re used to running, scoring in the 80s and the 90s,&#39;&#39; guard Chris Paul said. ``Tonight we did just enough to win. I think it really shows how far along our team is.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Deacons enjoyed their biggest lead at 61-53 with 4.5 minutes left. Miami rallied and had one shot to tie, but Anthony Harris&#39; 22-footer over Jamaal Levy fell short with 5 seconds to go.<br> <br> ``I saw that it was going straight to the goal, and I thought it might go in,&#39;&#39; Levy said. ``But it came up short.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Williams and Paul each scored 13 points for the Deacons, and Justin Gray added 11.<br> <br> ``They didn&#39;t have a great night shooting the ball, but that found a way to win,&#39;&#39; Miami coach Frank Haith said. ``That shows they&#39;re a top-notch team. They&#39;re experienced, and they come at you in waves they&#39;re a deep ballclub.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Guillermo Diaz led the Hurricanes with 20 points. Harris added 14 but was limited to 23 minutes because of cramps. The Deacons held Robert Hite to six points, 12 below his average.<br> <br> ``They took Guillermo out of it early,&#39;&#39; Haith said. ``They double-teamed him. They changed defenses when we made substitutions, which slowed us down a little bit. They&#39;re a better defensive team than people give them credit for.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Taron Downey hit a 3-pointer to put Wake Forest ahead to stay, 47-44 midway through the second half. But with the offense sputtering, the win wasn&#39;t secure until Gray sank two free throws with 3 seconds left.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re playing right now like we have a lot to lose,&#39;&#39; Williams said. ``We didn&#39;t come out squeaky clean, but we found a way to win. I think that&#39;s our mentality right now: We&#39;re fighting for something, and we&#39;re just going to keep fighting.&#39;&#39;