Courtesy GoDeacs.com
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Refocusing for its second true road tilt of the 2023-24 season, Wake Forest men’s basketball (10-3, 2-0) fought through a thriller in Conte Forum on Tuesday evening (Jan. 2), hanging on to take down the Boston College Eagles (9-4, 0-2) in an 84-78 finish.
The Demon Deacons are currently on an eight-game winning streak – their longest streak since a 16-game stretch during the 2008-09 season.
Additionally, Wake Forest has now won three straight contests in Conte Forum, dating back to Feb. 10, 2021.
Hunter Sallis led all scorers with 21 points. The junior guard made each of his six looks at the free-throw line while playing 36 minutes. The performance was Sallis’ seventh of the year in which he recorded 20 or more points, along with being the third-straight game this winter.
Cameron Hildreth had an efficient night from the floor against the Eagles, as the junior went 7-of-10 (70.0 percent) from the floor for 18 points, including a 3-of-4 clip from beyond the arc. His makes from three-point territory were a career best.
Kevin Miller made a handful of big plays in the midrange area to finish with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. The floor general tossed out a game-high seven assists as well.
Big man Efton Reid III had a major second half to control the paint and ultimately notch his second double-double as a Deac – 13 points (5-of-9 shooting) and 14 rebounds. In the final 20 minutes alone, Reid III posted 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting and grabbed 10 boards.
Andrew Carr netted a dagger, corner triple late in the contest to help seal the victory. The 6-10 forward chipped in seven rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard Parker Friedrichsen added nine points, all coming from three-point land.
It was the 12th time this season where Wake Forest had four players register double-figures in scoring.
Wake Forest again had an impressive night in its collective shooting – 54.4 percent from the field, 47.6 percent from three-point territory and 92.3 percent from the charity stripe (12-of-13). Tuesday evening featured the fourth time this season in which Wake Forest recorded at least 10 triples.
The Deacs recorded 17 assists on 31 made baskets (55 percent) – their most in a single game this season.
Wake Forest returns home to face the Miami Hurricanes this weekend inside LJVM Coliseum. Tip off is set for 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6 and the game will air live on The CW.
How It Happened
- Reid started the scoring for the Deacs on their first possession with a backdown hook shot for the early 2-0 lead.
- Two possessions later, Sallis converted an and-one for the 5-3 lead.
- Miller turned defense into offense with a steal and layup to keep Wake in front.
- On the next possession Hildreth hit the first Wake Forest three-pointer from the left wing for the 10-7 lead.
- Out of the media timeout, Miller found Sallis on the baseline for a dunk to take the 12-11 lead at the 14:34 mark.
- Friedrichsen ended a short run by the Eagles with two consecutive three-pointers to cut the deficit to 22-18 with 10 minutes to play in the half.
- Miller followed with a fadeaway jumper in the lane to keep the Deacs down just four.
- Another and-one conversion for Sallis got Wake back within four, 28-24, at the 7:41 mark.
- After a run from Boston College, Miller hit a jumper in the lane to get the deficit to single digits.
- Keller hit his first three of the game from the top of the key and the Deacs got back within five, 34-27, with 3:38 to go in the half.
- On the next possession Miller hit a three from the top of the key and Wake was within four, 36-32.
- Out of the timeout, Sallis hit a turnaround jumper and Wake stayed within four.
- Two possessions later Sallis went 2-of-2 from the line and Wake was within three with 1:07 to go in the half.
- Wake Forest went into halftime down, 40-36.
- Reid went into the locker room with a team-high four boards.
- Sallis was the leading scorer for Wake in the first 20 minutes with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
- Reid was again the first Deac to score at the start of the second half with a layup.
- Miller hit a stepback jumper on the next possession and Wake was down just three points, 43-40 with 18:11 to go.
- Miller and Sallis connected on the third possession for another bucket.
- After the third defensive stop in a row, Wake Forest took the 44-43 off another stepback jumper from Miller, an 8-0 run to open the half.
- A corner three from Hildreth put Wake back in front, 47-45, after the Eagles got their first field goal in over three minutes.
- Sallis found Reid for the alley-oop out of the under-16 media timeout and Wake Forest took the 49-45 lead.
- A right-wing three from Sallis kept Wake Forest ahead with 14 minutes to go.
- After a small scoring drought for the Deacs, Friedrichsen hit his third three-pointer of the night from the top of the key for the 55-54 lead.
- Two free throws from Sallis on the next possession kept Wake in front with just under 11 minutes to play.
- Hildreth hit a top-of-the-key three and the Deacs went up 60-58 at the 9-minute mark.
- On the next possession Hildreth hit a turnaround jumper on the baseline for the four-point lead.
- Two free throws from Miller out of the under-8 media timeout kept Wake in front, 64-61, with 7:22 to go.
- Carr found Sallis on the backdoor into the lane for a slam and the Deacs maintained the lead.
- On the next possession, Reid converted an and-one to put Wake up four with six minutes to play.
- Hildreth hit a driving jumper in the lane to get the Deacs over 70 with the six-point lead.
- A putback from Reid off a Sallis layup maintained Wake’s six-point lead with under five to play.
- The Wake Forest defense held Boston College without a field goal for three minutes.
- Two free throws from Reid and a coast-to-coast layup from Hildreth put the Deacs up 77-67 with under four minutes to go.
- Miller pulled up in the lane for the score to end an Eagles run. Wake went up 79-75 with 1:30 left to play.
- Carr hit a corner three with 12 seconds on the clock to put Wake Forest up 82-78.
- A steal on the inbound and a layup from Hildreth with nine seconds left sealed the deal.
- Wake Forest defeated Boston College, 84-78.
Stats of the Game
- Wake Forest extended its win-streak to eight games, the longest streak since a 16-game stretch during the 2008-09 season.
- Over the eight-game stretch, the Deacs have a plus-150 point differential for an average margin of victory of 18.8 during that span.
- With the victory, the Demon Deacons improved to 2-0 in ACC play, marking the first time since the 2008-09 season the Deacs won their first two conference games.
- The Demon Deacons have had at least one player with 20-or-more points in 11 of the first 13 games this season:
- Coming into the game, Wake Forest ranked first in the ACC and third in the nation with a 79.5 free throw percentage.
- The Deacs went 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) from the charity stripe against the Eagles, the highest percentage of the season.
- Tuesday evening marked the fourth game this season the Deacs shot over 90 percent from the line and the third-consecutive contest doing so.
Key Moment
- After Boston College made a three to open the second half, Wake Forest began an 8-0 push, taking a 44-43 advantage to jump in front.
- Efton Reid III firstly converted a layup, followed by a step-back jumper by Kevin Miller.
- Miller found Sallis in the open floor for a high layup and then the former again splashed a midrage shot to cap off the run.
Coach’s Comments
“One of our identity pieces is we’re trying to be a gritty, grimy, tough team and in the second half, we were. The start of the second half really changed the game. We came out and guarded a lot better. We only turned it over three times in the second half. We turned it over seven times in the first half, that was a problem. They were scoring off of our turnovers. Efton did a really good job of guarding Quinten Post in the second half. We never had to double the post and that kept us out of being behind the play, defensively, that was big. I just didn’t think we were very sharp in the first half and they were. They took the game to us, but as the game wore on, we kind of found our rhythm and played a lot better. We were playing hard the whole game, we just weren’t always playing smart. We switched up and put Cam on Zackery, and he did a good job on him. What a great pass by Boopie Miller at the end of the game to hit Andrew Carr in the corner for a big shot. Those were his only points of the game, but they were big and that shows the confidence that they have in each other and the confidence Andrew has to take that shot. Any win on the road is good and we’ll take it and go home.” – head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest returns home to face the Miami Hurricanes this weekend inside LJVM Coliseum. Tip off is set for 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6 and the game will air live on The CW.
