ACC Hoops: Wake Forest Beats Cal, 79-73

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (18-6, 10-3 ACC) took care of business on the road in Berkeley against the California Golden Bears (12-12, 5-8) to sweep their West Coast road trip this week. The Deacs were coming off a win against the Jalyn Blake-less Stanford Cardinal in a pivotal matchup of ACC bubble squads. The Deacs beat the Cardinal 79-73. The Golden Bears were coming off their own win against a Tobacco Road squad as they sent the NC State Wolfpack to Palo Alto with a 74-62 defeat.

The Deacs Cam Hildreth scored 23, Hunter Salis added 20 and Eton Reid finished with 19 to give the Deacons a 76-66 win over Cal. Hildreth continued his hot shooting, especially from the free throw line, as he shot 8 of 11 from the field including a three pointer and only missed one free throw going 6-7 from the charity stripe. Efton Reid joined Hildreth in the efficiency department missing only one shot from the field finishing 8 of 9 and hitting the Demon Deacons two other three pointers on the game. The Deacons big three scored all but 7 of Wake’s first half points as the Deac took a slim 31-29 lead into the break. 

Jeremiah Wilkson of the Cal Golden Bears made two free throws to tie the game at 42 at the 14 minute mark of the second half. The Deacons then went on an 8-0 run fueled by an Efton Reid big-man 3 pointer that put the Deacs ahead 50-42 and for good. The Deacs shot 57% from the field for the game as well as 37% from behind the arc going 3-8 from downtown. The Deacs only played 7 players and only got 16 points from players not named Hunter, Cam, or Efton.

The Golden Bears were led by Jeremiah Wilkinson’s 21 points and was joined in double figures by Jovan Blackshear’s 12 points off of three made 3 point field goals and Andrej Stojakovic’s 10 points. The Deacs held the Bears to shooting only 38% from the field. The Golden Bears relied heavily on the three pointer on a day where they were simply not going in. The Bears only made 8 of 28 three point attempts going an abysmal 28% from the arc. The Bears bench also struggled, only giving the Cal 7 points for the game. 

Next up for the Deacs is a home game against the Florida State Seminoles (14-9, 5-7 ACC). This will be the last trip for Leonard Hamiliton as the coach of the Seminoles. The Deacons have won 9 of their last 11 after their two game skid against ranked Duke and Louisville. The Deacons look to make the tournament committee’s job more difficult as they continue to get wins. 

 The Golden Bears head to Durham to take on the Blue Devils coming off their only ACC loss of the season. A cross-country, mid-week trip to what should be an angry Duke team does not bode well for the Bears.