TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Out of state for its 15th showing of the winter, Wake Forest men’s basketball (11-4, 3-1) visited Florida State (9-6, 3-1) on Tuesday evening (Jan. 9), ultimately dropping an 87-82 decision to the host Seminoles.
Cameron Hildreth and Kevin Miller led the offense with 25 and 21 points, respectively. Miller additionally snagged a career-best eight rebounds and dished out five assists, while Hildreth shot 9-of-18 from the floor (50.0 percent).
Freshman guard Parker Friedrichsen was a spark as a reserve, totaling 13 points on a 4-of-8 field-goal shooting clip. Three of the Bixby, Oklahoma, native’s made shots came from three-point territory.
Efton Reid posted nine points and a game-high nine rebounds. Fellow junior Hunter Sallis contributed 10 points.
The Demon Deacons ended the night with a 47.5 collective shooting percentage. Wake Forest also went 17-of-21 (81.0 percent) from the charity stripe against the Seminoles, being the eighth time the team posted a free throw percentage above 80 percent this season.
The Deacs return home to host the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday, Jan. 13. Tip is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will air live on ESPN2.
How It Happened
- After two defensive stops, Reid got the Deacs on the board first with an and-one conversion for the 3-0 lead early.
- A steal from Sallis seconds later led to his first bucket of the game for the 5-0 lead.
- A slam from Carr off a baseline out-of-bounds ended a Florida State run and put Wake back just three, 10-7.
- A three from Miller two plays later cut the deficit to two, 12-10.
- Another one from Miller cut it to three, 12-15.
- Hildreth hit his first three of the game to make it 20-15 after a short Seminole run.
- Two free throws from Friedrichsen got Wake back within 10, 27-17, at the 9:08 mark of the first half.
- The Wake Forest defense went on to hold Florida State without a field goal for over four minutes.
- Friedrichsen hit his first three of the game to get Wake within seven, 27-20.
- Out of the timeout, Hildreth hit his second one from deep for an 8-0 Wake run and down just four, 27-23, at the 5:22 mark.
- A driving layup from Miller kept the Deacs within four, 29-25.
- A corner three from Friedrichsen continued Wake’s offensive momentum and kept them within four.
- Reid hit two free throws out of the timeout to make it just a two-point deficit, 32-30, with 3:33 to play in the first half.
- Miller tied it at 32 with two free throws on the next possession.
- A hook shot from Reid kept the margin tied at 34 with 2:33 to play.
- A coast-to-coast layup from Hildreth gave Wake the 36-34 lead.
- A drive from Miller ended in a bucket and the four-point lead with 1:19 to go in the half.
- Wake Forest went into halftime down one, 42-41.
- Miller and Hildreth led all scorers with 11 points each.
- Reid had a game-high five rebounds after the first 20 minutes.
- Hildreth opened the half with two free throws for the one-point Wake Forest lead.
- Both teams traded free throws before Florida State went on a run for the 13-point lead.
- Sallis ended the Seminole run with the jumper to make it 56-45, Florida State leading.
- Friedrichsen drilled a three from the top of the key and followed it up with a steal and a layup to get the Deacs within six, 56-50, with 12:30 to play.
- An and-one conversion from Hildreth out of the timeout kept Wake within five, 58-53.
- Hildreth kept the Deacs within six with a layup on the next possession.
- A corner three from Sallis two possessions later put Wake back within five, 63-58.
- A physical drive from Miller ended in a made layup and the Deacs stayed within five.
- Hildreth followed suit on the next play and the Deacs were down 67-62 with 8:25 to play.
- Out of the timeout, Wake got within three on a Reid slam.
- A defensive stop and two free throws by Miller allowed Wake to get within one, 67-66, with 7:06 to play.
- Carr tied it at 67 with a free throw and 6:40 to play.
- A coast-to-coast layup from Miller gave Wake the 69-67 lead on the next play and put the Deacs on a 9-0 run.
- Hildreth ended a Florida State push and got Wake back within four, 75-71, with 4:20 to play.
- Carr hit a free throw out of the timeout to keep Wake within six, as three minutes remained on the clock.
- Hildreth nailed a three from the top of the key to make it 82-75 – a Florida State lead with 1:56 to play.
- A three from Sallis for his 10th point put Wake within four with a minute to play, 82-78.
- Miller took it all the way for a layup, 80-83, with 32 seconds to play.
- Miller kept Wake within three, 85-82, with two free throws at 15 seconds to play.
- Wake Forest fell to Florida State 87-82.
Stats of the Game
- Junior guard Cameron Hildreth led all individuals with 25 points on Tuesday evening.
- The performance marked his fourth game of 2023-24 in reaching 20 points, and his second consecutive showing doing so.
- The Worthing, England, native is averaging 20.0 points per game since the start of ACC play.
- Additionally, Wake Forest has had at least one player with 20-or-more points in 13 of the first 15 games this season and fifth time with multiple:
- Freshman guard Parker Friedrichsen recorded double-digit points for the second time in his collegiate career, as he finished with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including a 2-of-3 clip from deep, in addition to two steals.
- Over the last seven games, the freshman is 19-of-36 (52.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
Coach’s Comments
“Florida State did a great job of speeding us up on offense the entire game with their aggressiveness, length and switching. They made it very difficult to get a catch on offense which led to over-dribbling and trying to make plays for ourselves instead of moving the ball. They were very handsy on defense causing 20 turnovers, I can’t remember the last time we had more than 10. Credit to their defense and Coach Hamilton for getting their team ready to play like that.
They put a lot of pressure on us in their transition offense right from the get go off misses and turnovers. I think Florida State was 10-of-17 in transition during the game. Baba Miller did a great job getting them going early in the game. Chandler Jackson really lifted them in the second half and made some good plays. Also, they didn’t settle for threes, they kept putting pressure on us at the rim which caused us to foul.
We did tie it up at 67, then Florida State scored on seven of their last eight possessions on that run. We fouled four times. More often than not the more aggressive team is going to win. They were the more aggressive team tonight and I think their team is getting much better. They are a prime example of playing a 31 game season and it’s not done in 10 or 15 games. Florida State has won three in a row now and they are going to be hard to beat and they have a nice team, so congrats to Florida State.” – head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
The Deacs return home to host the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday, Jan. 13. Tip is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will air live on ESPN2.
