WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest men’s basketball team defeated Syracuse 77-74 on Saturday afternoon inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum to remain a perfect 10-0 at home on the season.
The overtime victory marks the Demon Deacons’ (13-3, 3-2 ACC) third of the season, a feat that has not been accomplished since the 2009-10 team won five games in overtime.
Wake Forest put together another strong defensive performance against the Orange, holding Syracuse to 27.6 percent from beyond the arc, 10 percent below their season average of 38.6 percent that ranked 22nd nationally coming into the game.
The Demon Deacon defense also held Syracuse to just 36 percent shooting overall, and have now held 10 of its 16 opponents to below 40 percent shooting on the season. Overall, ACC opponents are a combined 116-of-293 (39.6 percent) against Wake Forest.
Offensively, the team tallied 19 assists on 25 made baskets, 11 of which came from beyond the arc. Four Demon Deacons tallied at least four assists, highlighted by Carter Whitt’s six. Jake LaRavia, Dallas Walton and Alondes Williams dished out four each.
Williams led the Deacs’ in both scoring and rebounding, finishing with 25 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting to post his first double-double of the season. The Milwaukee native iced the game for the Deacs in overtime as he knocked down a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to push Wake Forest’s advantage to three.
Isaiah Mucius finished with 18 points, courtesy of four makes from downtown and a strong 4-of-5 performance from the stripe. The senior captain accounted for 16 of the team’s 38 first-half points and has now made at least three triples in each of his past six games.
Khadim Sy (13 points) and LaRavia (12 points) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Deacs. LaRavia also finished with nine rebounds and helped force a Syracuse turnover with 10 seconds left in regulation that led to Dallas Walton’s overtime-forcing dunk on the ensuing possession.
Walton tied his career-high against the Orange with four blocks, all four coming in the second half (three), or overtime (one). Walton added nine points and four rebounds.
In all 16 games this season, Wake Forest has had at least three players finish in double figures.
How It Happened
Alondes Williams made a triple to open up scoring for the Demon Deacons 80 seconds into the contest.
After trading baskets with Syracuse, Wake Forest entered the under-16 timeout trailing the Orange by two points (10-8).
Each of the Deacs’ first three buckets were assisted on.
Mucius sank his third three-pointer of the afternoon with 13:18 on the clock, tying the game at 16.
Mucius’ fourth make from downtown with 7:36 to play in the opening period brought the Deacs within three of the Orange’s 26-23 lead.
Jake LaRavia tallied a pair of makes from the stripe and knocked down a three on the following possession to cut Syracuse’s lead to two (30-28) with just under six minutes left until intermission.
Mucius’ second 2-for-2 trip to the free throw line capped off a 10-0 run that gave the Deacs their first lead of the game (38-34) with 37 seconds until the half.
LaRavia and Williams each knocked down their second triples of the contest and LaRavia also contributed a second pair of makes from the stripe during the run.
Wake Forest entered halftime leading Syracuse 38-36. Eight of the Demon Deacons’ 11 made field goals in the opening half came from downtown, with 10-of-11 field goals being assisted on.
Mucius led the first-half scoring effort with 16 points, courtesy of four makes from deep and four makes from the free throw line.
LaRavia (12 points) and Williams (eight points) followed close behind, and the pair combined for four three-pointers and four assists.
Williams’ third three-pointer restored the Deacs’ lead (41-40) early in the second half.
Wake Forest responded to a 9-0 Syracuse run with a 12-0 run of their own that retook the lead (53-49) with just under 11 minutes remaining in the contest.
Khadim Sy accounted for seven of the run’s 11 points with two three-pointers and a make from the stripe.
Mucius and Sy scored layups on consecutive possessions to extend the Deacs’ lead to four (58-54) with eight minutes to go.
Williams converted a three-point play at the stripe to push Wake Forest’s lead back to four (65-61) with 4:47 remaining in the contest.
Walton retook the lead at the stripe following a 5-0 Syracuse run, going 2-for-2 to bring the score to 67-66 with just under two minutes to play.
After the team forced a Syracuse turnover on an inbounds play trailing two points, Walton slammed down a dunk to tie the game at 69 and send it to overtime.
Following an Orange basket, the Deacs scored six unanswered points to jump out to a 75-71 lead with 3:12 to go in the overtime period.
Williams drained a pair of clutch free throws with 13 seconds left to give Wake Forest a 77-74 lead.
Wake Forest forced two missed shots on Syracuse’s final possession and won the game, 77-74.
Key Moment
Early in the second half, Syracuse erased Wake Forest’s halftime lead with a 9-0 run that put the Deacs at an eight-point disadvantage (49-41) with 15 minutes left in the game.
Wake Forest went on a 12-0 run in response, during which the team held the Orange without a field goal for five minutes of game time. Khadim Sy capped off the run with his second three-pointer of the afternoon, which gave Wake Forest a 53-49 advantage with 10:44 left to play in the second half. Sy accounted for seven of the run’s 12 points.
The run prevented Syracuse from building a double-digit lead, and put the Deacs in position to win the game.
Stat of the Game
The Demon Deacon defense held Syracuse to just 36 percent shooting overall, and have now held 10 of its 16 opponents to below 40 percent shooting on the season. ACC opponents are a combined 116-of-293 (39.6 percent) against Wake Forest.
Coach’s Comments
“Today was a gritty, gutty win and our guys were resilient the whole game. We went scoreless for a long time at the end of the second half but we found a way to extend the game and win it. We did a good job putting pressure on their zone, we made shots when we needed to and we found a way to tough this one out.” – head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
The Deacs will wrap up their three-game homestand Wednesday, January 12 when they take on the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils.
Tipoff in LJVM Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.
