WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest men’s basketball team defeated NC State 101-76 on Senior Night for the team’s 13th ACC victory of the season, tying the 2002-03 and 2004-05 teams for the best mark in program history.
The Demon Deacons (23-8, 13-7 ACC) outscored the Wolfpack 60-31 in the second half thanks to a 53-18 run to end the game after NC State tied the game at 48 just under four minutes into the period.
As a team, Wake Forest surpassed 60 percent shooting from the field for the second time this season with a mark of 60.9 percent (39-of-64), including a 37.0 percent mark from beyond the arc (10-of-27). Additionally, the Deacs tallied 20 assists, the sixth such occasion this season, while netting 13 of their 15 attempts at the stripe.
Defensively, Wake Forest held NC State to just 40.3 percent shooting (25-of-62) and won the rebounding battle by a 42-27 margin. With the 25-point victory, Wake Forest is the first ACC program to boast nine league victories by 15 points or more since Virginia also had nine during the 2018-19 season.
The Demon Deacon seniors led the way in their final game in the Joel Coliseum. Winston-Salem native Daivien Williamson led all scorers with a career-high 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field, including a career-high tying five triples.
Dallas Walton (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Alondes Williams (17 points, 11 assists) each recorded double-doubles, with Walton’s being the first of his career.
Meanwhile, Isaiah Mucius was the final Deacon in double figures with 12 points, and Khadim Sy tallied six points, eight rebounds, a block and a steal.
How It Happened
Alondes WIlliams’ jumper opened up scoring for the Deacs on their first possession.
Isaiah Mucius dropped in back-to-back triples to provide the team with an early 8-6 lead with 17:33 left in the opening half.
Wake Forest entered the first media timeout with a 15-10 lead after another long-range bomb from Daivien Williamson and a dunk by Jake LaRavia.
Dallas Walton’s dunk off a touch pass from Williams extended the Deacs’ lead to six (21-15) with 12:27 on the game clock.
LaRavia’s pair of free throws ended a 7-0 Wolfpack run and retook the lead (23-22) with just under nine minutes to go in the first half.
Williamson connected on two three-pointers and scored a layup within a 1:23 span to extend the Deacs’ lead to six (33-27) with five minutes left until the intermission.
Williams netted two free throws to silence a 9-0 NC State run and retake a 41-40 lead going into halftime.
Williamson led the team’s scoring effort in the first half, scoring 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a trio of makes from downtown. Williams and LaRavia each tallied eight points.
As a unit, the Deacs shot 55.6 percent from the field in the opening period.
Walton cashed in his first three-ball of the evening as the Deacs struck first in the second half.
Walton rolled in a layup to open up an 11-0 run that saw Wake Forest take a 57-48 lead with 13:44 remaining in the contest.
Damari Monsanto drilled his first three-pointer during the run to go along with layups from Khadim Sy and Williamson.
Walton netted a pair of free throws and Sy slammed a dunk to extend the Deacs’ lead to 14 (68-54) with under 10 minutes to play.
Williamson drained his fourth and fifth three-balls within a 50-second window to give the team a 17-point lead (78-61) with 7:40 to go in regulation.
Wake Forest defeated NC State on Senior Night, 101-76.
Stats of the Game
With the win, Wake Forest has tied the single-season program record for ACC wins with 13 (2004-05, 2002-03).
The win also gives the Deacs the largest year-to-year improvement ever in ACC win totals with 10. The Deacs surpassed the 2009-10 UNC team who had 9.
Wake Forest earned its 16th win of the season inside LJVM Coliseum on Wednesday night, which is tied for the highest total in program history.
16-0 (2004-05)
16-0 (2002-03)
16-2 (2021-22)
15-2 (2007-08)
Additionally, Wake Forest has only won 14 home games three other times in school history (1993-94, 14-3; 1995-96, 14-0; 2008-09, 14-1).
Coach’s Comments
“The hardest thing in life to regain is respect and this team has gone out and regained the respect of our campus, our community, the ACC and the nation. And I told our team after the game, once you lose something like that, it’s hard to get it back. Respect is something that is earned, not given. Do we have to finish more and do what we have done consistently year after year? Of course. But someone had to do it, and this group did it and I am incredibly proud of them for that.
Now, it wasn’t very pretty at halftime. That was probably as mad as I’ve been this season because of the fact that we were getting beat to the 50/50 balls and the loose balls. It really upset me, and I have to give our players credit because they came out and went at them with effort and intensity. We held them to 34 percent in the second half and we made it very difficult to guard us once they went to man defense. We had great balance with Daivien’s unbelievable game, Alondes’ double-double, and Dallas’ first career double-double. What an outstanding crowd, and what an outstanding way to end the season.
Lastly, I know I said 20 wins is good, 25 wins is great, and 30 wins is special before, but I am making an exception. Winning 23 regular season games after what we went through with the pandemic and recruiting this entire team by zoom, this team is absolutely special and they deserve to relish in their success for a couple days.
And then, we’re going to refocus and go win the ACC Tournament.” – Coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Following Saturday’s contest, Wake Forest will await Saturday’s league results to determine when and whom they will play in the ACC Tournament.
Presently, the Deacs have a guaranteed single-bye with a double-bye still possible in the event of Miami finishing the season with a 12-8 ACC record.
