WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Entering a Saturday (Jan. 20) noon test with a renewed focus, Wake Forest men’s basketball (13-5, 5-2) handled business on its home floor against the Louisville Cardinals (6-12, 1-6), downing the visitors in a dominant 90-65 win.
The Demon Deacons are currently on a three-game winning streak against Louisville throughout the all-time series history.
Wake Forest caught fire from outside the arc, pouring in a season-high 18 three-pointers on 35 attempts (51.4 percent). The team performance ultimately finished as a second-best total in program history, along with the most in the head coach Steve Forbes era. Additionally, Wake Forest’s makes from distance were the most by an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team this season.
The Deacs recorded 20 assists on 31 baskets Saturday afternoon – the most in a single game this winter and most since the game at Miami last season (22) on Feb. 18, 2023.
Five Deacons notched double figures in scoring, led by Hunter Sallis’ 19. The junior guard came out of the gate aggressive, scoring a quick eight points, and ended the afternoon with a career-high tying five threes made.
Andrew Carr, who made his 100th career appearance Saturday afternoon, finished with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including three three pointers, three rebounds and three assists.
Making his return to the hardwood, sharpshooter Damari Monsanto created an immediate presence in scoring 12 points on the day, going 4-of-6 from three-point territory.
Kevin Miller and Efton Reid III chipped in 11 points apiece, with the latter grabbing seven boards.
Cameron Hildreth was close to a double-double, totaling eight points and leading all individuals with 11 rebounds (tied for a career high). Parker Friedrichsen netted nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the outside.
Wake Forest has a quick turn to Monday when it faces the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN.
How It Happened
- Sallis got the Deacs on the board with a left-wing bucket from range for the early 3-0 Wake Forest lead.
- Carr drove the lane for a layup two possessions later for the 5-2 lead.
- Sallis hit his second three, this time from the top of the key, to put Wake in front by four.
- On the next possession, Sallis sank a midrange jumper to maintain the lead.
- Hildreth got on the board with his own three from the left side and the Deacs went back up four.
- The Deacs stayed hot as Miller drained a corner three for the six-point Wake Forest lead.
- A third three-pointer from Sallis in the first nine minutes kept Wake ahead by five heading into the first media timeout of the half.
- Out of the timeout, Friedrichsen drained a corner three and Wake took its largest lead of the game, 22-16, at the 10:05 mark.
- Making his season debut, Monsanto sank a three-pointer on the next possession and the Deacs went up nine.
- On the next play, Friedrichsen topped off a 9-0 Wake run with his second three-pointer and Wake’s third in a row.
- Friedrichsen ended a Louisville run with his third bucket from deep and Wake went back up by nine with six minutes to go in the half.
- Carr hit the Deacs’ 10th first-half three-pointer to keep Wake ahead by double digits for the first time.
- On the next possession, Reid got his first bucket from the baseline and Wake stayed up by 12 with 3:37 to go in the half.
- A midrange jumper from Miller maintained Wake’s double-digit lead.
- Wake hit four free throws in a row from Reid and Miller to go up 14 with under a minute left in the half.
- Miller took it to the paint for a layup and the 15-point Wake Forest lead.
- At the buzzer, Sallis hit his third three of the game and Wake went into the locker room with the 48-33 lead.
- Sallis led all scorers with 13 first-half points.
- Reid pulled down a game-high five rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
- The Deacs also went a perfect 6-of6 from the charity stripe in the first half.
- Hildreth started the second half with a layup that was followed by Carr’s second three of the game for the 54-39 lead.
- Reid found Carr under the basket for a slam to maintain the Deacs’ lead.
- On the next play Reid got the basket.
- Back-to-back buckets from Carr, a jumper and left-wing three put Wake up 18 with 13:38 to play.
- Wake’s 20-point lead came after Hildreth got in the lane for a layup.
- Monsanto got the lead to 21 with his second three of the game with 11:16 to go.
- Out of the timeout, Monsanto hit his third three to keep Wake’s lead at 22.
- On the next possession, Sallis extended Wake’s run to 6-0 with his fourth three-pointer of the game.
- Monsanto made it a 9-2 run with his fourth three.
- Keller put Wake up 25 points with 7:26 to play with his first points of the game.
- Wake Forest went into the final media timeout at the 3:32 mark with a 82-62 lead.
- Sallis found Reid in the paint to keep Wake up 20.
- Reid hit his first three of the game on the next play.
- Sallis hit Wake’s 18th three-pointer of the game with 50 seconds to go.
- Wake Forest defeated Louisville, 90-65.
Stats of the Game
- The Demon Deacons connected on 18 three-pointers on 35 attempts (51.4 percent) Saturday afternoon, the most by the Demon Deacons under Steve Forbes and most by an ACC team this season.
- It also marked the most three-pointers by a Wake Forest team in regulation and second-most in program history.
- 19 – Clemson (2OT) – Feb. 13, 2002
- 18 – Louisville – Jan. 20, 2024
- 18 – (2) North Carolina – Jan. 31, 1998
- 16 – NC A&T – Nov. 20, 2021
- 16 – LSU – Dec. 22, 2016
- 16 – Georgia Tech (2OT) – March. 8, 2007
- 16 – Duke – March 10, 1995
- The Deacs had four players knock down at least three three-pointers
- With the win, Wake Forest is now 42-5 inside LJVM Coliseum since the start of the 2021-22 season and 11-0 this season. It marks the most home wins in the ACC in the Forbes era and the second-best winning percentage (.894).
- Home wins since start of 2021-22
- Wake Forest – 42
- Duke – 40
- Virginia – 36
- Miami – 35
- North Carolina – 35
- The Deacs have won 11-consecutive home games for the first time since 1999. It is tied for the 10th-longest home winning streak in program history.
- Wake Forest recorded 20 assists on 31 baskets Saturday afternoon, the most in a single game this season and most since the game at Miami last season (22) on Feb. 18, 2023.
Key Moment
- After Damari Monsanto entered the contest at the 10:24 mark, the Deacs went on a 9-0 run with three-consecutive triples and took a comfortable 12-point lead.
- Friedrichsen drained a corner three at the 10:05 mark before Monsanto sank his first shot of the season on the following possession.
- Friedrichsen topped off the run with his second triple in a little over a minute at the 8:56 mark.
- Coach’s Comments
- “Coming into this game and watching the film of Louisville, I was really impressed with their team. They’re getting a lot better, you can’t really judge them on what happened in November and December. Mike James and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield are playing at a high level. Trey White was really great today, Skyy Clark is so fast. I’ve been impressed with Curtis Williams shooting.
Kenny is doing a good job, it’s hard in this league to continue to get better. I believe that Louisville has gotten better. Listen, we made 18 threes. It was going to be hard to lose that game. Anytime you make 18 threes you have a great chance to win. It was an unbelievable effort by our team to share the ball and shoot great shots. Those were all pretty darn good shots out of the threes that we made.
If you look at the lessons we learned from the losses on the road. We had to play without fouling. Coming into the game, I believe Louisville led the league in going to the line. They only went 11 times, which was huge because we fouled too much at Florida State and NC State. Limiting turnovers was huge, we only had eight and three or four of those were late in the game. Unbelievable job of taking care of the ball and sharing the ball. We had 20 assists on 31 baskets.
We did a good job defensively. Louisville made 25 twos. That’s pretty darn good defense and they made some tough shots. We did an unbelievable job of guarding the three point line. Hunter got us off to a great start, he is playing at a high level. Andrew was great and Cam played great defense with eleven rebounds as well. Efton played solid and that we did a good job of getting the ball inside out. We didn’t just shoot a bunch of threes. It was a good effort.
When Damari came in I lost the bet. My bet was that it was going to be an air ball or an air bank. But he splashed it right in my mouth standing right next to me. I don’t know what to say, he is a really good shooter. Damari has great size and he can get it off quick on anybody and he has tremendous confidence. I thought he threw a good pass to Parker for a three. Parker played awesome coming off the bench with three threes. I thought it was a pretty darn good team win.” – head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest has a quick turn to Monday when the team will face the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN
