UM coach Courtney: ‘Losing stinks.’ Canes fall 88-78 to Wake Forest. Up next: No. 4 Duke

Five Hurricanes scored in double figures, but it wasn’t enough; and the University of Miami lost 88-78 at home to Wake Forest.

It was Miami’s fifth loss in a row and dropped the Canes to 4-12 for the season and 0-5 in the ACC. Wake Forest is 12-4 and 4-1 in the conference.

“Losing stinks,” said UM interim coach Bill Courtney, who took over after Jim Larranaga retired unexpectedly on Dec. 26. “It’s very difficult. These kids are working their tails off and deserve to win. Our job as a coaching staff and theirs as players is to figure out a way. That’s what we’re working towards.”

Senior Matthew Cleveland led UM with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting for the Hurricanes, his sixth straight double-digit scoring effort. He also had four rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks. Senior Brandon Johnson pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Jalil Bethea added 13 points and four assists.

Freshman Austin Swartz started alongside Bethea in the back court, as Nijel Pack remained out with an unspecified foot injury and Divine Ugochukwu missed the game with a hip injury. Swartz chippd in 12 points, Paul Djobet scored 11 and AJ Staton-McCray had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Wake Forest’s Cameron Hildreth led all scorers with 31 points. He made six of eight three-point attempts and went 11-of-16 from the field.

Miami kept it close in the first half, as there were eight lead changes and four ties.

Wake Forest connected on four of its first five attempts to open the second half, extending its lead to 49-37.

The Demon Deacons shot 70 percent from the field in the second half, paced by Sallis and Hildreth who each knocked down 85.7 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes.

“We had two freshmen out there going up against Cameron and Hunter Sallis, two terrific all-league players,” Courtney said. “We knew we’d have a challenge with those two guys. Hildreth is so crafty around the basket. He was tremendous.”

Cleveland cut the deficit to seven, 75-68, but the Canes never got closer. Courtney praised his players’ collective effort.

“We were right there, but couldn’t get a stop, which is a repeating occurrence for us,” he said. “But give credit to Wake Forest. Hunter Sallis is a terrific player and he was the closer tonight down the stretch.”

The Hurricanes now face their most daunting challenge of the season so far: a road game Tuesday against No. 4 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN.

Duke (14-2) beat Notre Dame 86-78 on Saturday as Cooper Flag shattered the ACC freshman record with 42 points. He went 11-for-14, made 16 of 17 foul shots, had seven assists and six rebounds.

“Duke is very good,” Courtney said. “[Virginia Tech coach] Mike Young said they’re the best defensive team he’s seen, ever. Their size and length present so many challenges. Cooper Flagg, incredible player, generational talent. They’ve got guys around him that are very good also.

“But at the end of the day, for us it’s about getting better every day. We can’t worry about Duke. We have to worry about Miami.”