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Wake sends Miami to first ACC loss

Feb 24, 2013 - 12:12 AM Winston-Salem, NC (Sports Network) - Wake Forest has been tough on its home floor this season, and on Saturday the Demon Deacons used that advantage to overpower the top team in the ACC.

C.J. Harris scored 23 points and a raucous crowd at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum stormed the floor after Wake Forest handed second-ranked Miami-Florida its first conference loss of the season with a thorough 80-65 decision.

Harris' five 3-pointers in the first half helped pave the way for Wake Forest (12-14, 5-9 ACC), which improved to 10-4 on its own court and ended a two-game skid.

"Today we combined playing really good basketball with just great energy, coupled with great energy that our fans in this building provided for us," said Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelik. "We in turn gave it back to them. Just a great day for the Deacs, a lot of great individual performances, but most importantly a great team performance."

Codi Miller-McIntyre chipped in 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Travis McKie had eight points to go along with 10 rebounds and five blocks in the victory.

After winning their first 13 conference games, the Hurricanes (22-4, 13-1) saw an unexpected and impressive streak come to an end.

Durand Scott scored all 17 of his points in the second half, but Miami committed 13 turnovers and shot a poor 39.1 percent for the contest in suffering its first defeat since Christmas Day.

Shane Larkin contributed 13 points and Trey McKinney Jones followed with 11 in the setback.

Miami held the advantage early, but Wake Forest surged ahead just over seven minutes in and never looked back.

The Demon Deacons built a 13-point lead following four consecutive 3-pointers, with Harris accounting for the last three to conclude a 15-2 run.

"C.J. Harris was terrific in the first half and I think that gave his entire team a lot of confidence," said Miami head coach Jim Larranaga. "We made a lot of mental mistakes and didn't play very well in either half. Whenever you do that in the ACC you are going to suffer a loss."

Miami shot just 1-for-12 during the hosts' burst and converted only 37.5 percent of its shots through the initial 20 minutes.

Harris, who didn't miss from 3-point range, scored 15 points in the opening 20 minutes and helped swell Wake Forest's lead to as many as 19 before Kenny Kadji and Larkin each knocked down triples for Miami to end the first half, keeping the visitors within 42-29 at the break.

Scott tallied eight quick points to give the Hurricanes some punch as they pulled within five off a 16-8 push to begin the second stanza, but Wake did not wither.

The Demon Deacons retaliated with 12 unanswered points to regain control and built a 62-45 lead with just over seven minutes remaining. Miami committed three turnovers during the dry spell and Wake Forest scored off each one, with Madison Jones' three-point play sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The Hurricanes never recovered from there, falling behind by as many as 18 points before the final buzzer.

Game Notes

Wake Forest improved to 9-6 all-time against the Hurricanes ... The Demon Deacons have won just three of their last 11 games, but two of their victories during the stretch have come against ranked opponents. They knocked off then 18th-ranked NC State on Jan. 22 ... Miami was outscored on the break, 15-2, and Wake Forest scored 15 points off the Hurricanes' 13 turnovers.