WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest men’s basketball team defeated Florida State 76-54 on Tuesday evening in the team’s ACC home opener inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The 22-point victory marks the largest by the Demon Deacons (12-3, 2-2 ACC) over an ACC opponent since the 2016-17 season, and is the program’s first victory in its ACC home opener since the 2017-18 season. With the 80-61 win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Dec. 4, this is the first season Wake Forest has won their home and road ACC openers since the 2008-09 season.
After Florida State jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, Wake Forest outscored the Seminoles 32-13 for the remainder of the opening half thanks to the team’s gritty defensive performance. The Deacs took their first lead at the 12:35 mark of the contest and did not surrender it for the remainder of the game.
Overall, the Wake Forest’s defense held Florida State to 24.2 percent shooting, which marks the sixth-lowest opponent field goal percentage in program history. Additionally, tonight was the first time a team has held the Seminoles to sub-30 percent shooting since the 2016-17 season.
Wake Forest also won the rebounding battle by a decisive 53-to-30 margin as seven Deacs hauled in five or more rebounds. Khadim Sy led the team’s effort on the glass, finishing with 10 boards to go along with a season-high 16 points en route to his first career double-double.
On offense, Jake LaRavia led the team in scoring for the third-consecutive game, finishing with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and a season-high nine makes from the stripe. The Indiana native also tallied seven boards and five assists.
Alondes Williams followed close behind with 20 points on an efficient 7-of-13 clip to go along with six free throws. The ACC’s leading assist man also tallied six rebounds and four assists.
In all 15 games this season, Wake Forest has had at least three players finish in double figures.
How It Happened
Dallas Walton got the Demon Deacons started with two trips to the free throw line where he went 3-for-4.
After Florida State jumped to a 9-3 lead, the Deacs responded with a 22-2 run spanning 9:44 of game-time that gave the team a 25-11 lead with 6:48 to play in the first half.
Four Demon Deacons scored during the run, highlighted by 10 of Khadim Sy’s 16 points. In addition to Sy, Isaiah Mucius netted a pair of triples, Jake LaRavia scored four points from the stripe, and Alondes Williams scored a layup.
Wake Forest held the Seminoles scoreless (0-for-9 shooting) for nearly eight minutes.
LaRavia drained a shot from downtown to restore the Deacs’ double-digit lead (33-21) with 1:11 until intermission.
Williams scored another layup late in the half to give Wake Forest a 35-22 lead over Florida State at the break.
The Demon Deacon defense held Florida State to just 7-of-31 shooting (22.6 percent) from the field and forced five turnovers. The Seminoles’ 22 first half points mark their lowest scoring output in a half this season.
Sy led the team in scoring at the half, with 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and 3-of-4 from the stripe. LaRavia followed close behind with 9 points on a flawless 2-of-2 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line.
LaRavia found Walton for a dunk to open up a 9-0 run that gave the Deacs’ a 22-point lead (46-24) just over three minutes into the final period.
Williams scored a pair of layups and Mucius drained his third triple of the night during the run.
Williams converted a three-point play at the stripe to give the Deacs a 24-point lead (53-29) with 13:30 remaining in the contest.
LaRavia’s layup in transition extended the lead to 25 (61-36) with just under 10 minutes left to play.
LaRavia ended a 9-0 Seminole run with another three-point play conversion at the stripe, providing the Deacs with a 19-point cushion (64-45) with 7:22 remaining in the game.
LaRavia added a layup and another pair of makes from the stripe to extend the lead to 23 with 4:13 until the final buzzer.
Wake Forest went on to defeat Florida State, 76-54.
Key Moment
After Florida State knocked down a pair of free throws to go up 11-8 with 14:28 on the clock, Wake Forest took complete control of the game on the defensive side of the ball and held the Seminoles scoreless (0-for-9 shooting) for 7:54 of game time.
That stretch of gritty, grimy, tough, and together defense enabled the offense to score 17 unanswered points and build a double-digit lead that Florida State was unable to overcome.
Stat of the Game
Wake Forest held Florida State to just 15-of-62 shooting from the field, marking the first time Florida State has been held to sub-30 percent shooting since the 2016-17 season.
Additionally, their 24.2 percent clip marks the sixth-lowest field goal percentage by a Wake Forest opponent in program history.
Coach’s Comments
“We stayed really connected tonight, defensively. We protected the rim. We had a really strong gaucho. We changed our pick and roll coverage. We iced tonight, which we have not done all year. We had 11 kills coming out of a game where we probably had none against Miami. We did a really good job getting to the line on offense and that’s really important. We assisted on 15 of our 25 baskets and they are a really good defensive team. They make it hard on you because they force you to drive the ball into guys that can block shots, so I thought we did a good job of sharing the ball.” – head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
The Deacs will continue their homestand on Saturday, January 8, with the first of two matchups this season against Syracuse.
Tipoff in LJVM Coliseum is set for 2 p.m. and the game will air live on Bally Sports South and other regional sports networks.
