SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Regrouping after a not so ideal start, the Wake Forest men’s basketball team put on an exceptional, second-half display during Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4) to ultimately capture an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) road win at Notre Dame.
The Demon Deacons (15-9, 7-6) have now downed the Fighting Irish (10-13, 2-10) in back-to-back meetings. Additionally, Saturday’s win was Wake Forest’s first in the Purcell Pavilion since 2019.
Wake Forest held a high efficiency showing as a unit, shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from downtown. At the free-throw line, the Deacs went 9-of-11 (81.8 percent). Wake Forest’s 14 made three-pointers tied as the second-highest mark of the season, as the team also made 14 against Florida State (Jan. 11). Additionally, the Deacons’ 52.7 field goal percentage is their best field goal percentage since shooting 55.6 percent against Florida State.
Continuing his impressive flow through league play, Damari Monsanto erupted for new career highs in points (28) and three-pointers made (8). The redshirt junior has now connected on six or more triples in five games this season. He went 9-of-15 from the field overall (8-of-13 from three-point land). Monsanto also played hard on the glass, collecting seven rebounds.
Tyree Appleby stuffed the stat sheet, totaling 16 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
Coming off a solid Tuesday performance, Bobi Klintman again played a notable role, contributing 10 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes. The freshman finished on a perfect clip from the floor (4-of-4 field goals). Matthew Marsh was another spark, also going 4-of-4 in his floor tries for eight points and four rebounds.
Defensively, Wake Forest held Notre Dame to the least amount of points they’ve scored since tallying 64 at North Carolina last month (Jan. 7).
Wake Forest returns home next week for the second matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels Tuesday night (Feb. 7). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET in Purcell Pavilion and the game will air live on ESPN. Fans in attendance are encouraged to wear their tie dye in support of the Deacs!
Standout Stats
- For the second time in the series and the first time since 2019, Wake Forest defeated the Irish in Purcell Pavilion, 81-64.
- The Deacs have now beaten the Irish in back-to-back meetings for the first time since 2014.
- This is the first time Wake has beaten Notre Dame by double digits since Feb. 29, 2020
- Damari Monsanto went for new career highs in points (28) and three-pointers made (8).
- The redshirt junior has now connected on six or more triples in five games this season.
- He went 9-of-15 from the field overall (8-of-13 from three-point land).
- Monsanto also played hard on the glass, collecting seven rebounds.
- The Deacs 14 made three’s ties the second-most of the season. They also made 14 against Florida State Jan. 11.
- Wake is the only team this season to make 14 three’s against Notre Dame.
- Wake’s 52.7 field goal percentage is the team’s best field goal percentage since shooting 55.6 percent against Florida State.
How It Happened
- Hildreth scored the first points of the game at the 18:57 mark on a driving layup for the early 2-0 lead.
- Monsanto followed on the very next possession with a turnaround jumper to keep the Deacs ahead, 4-3.
- After holding Notre Dame scoreless for almost three minutes, The Deacs went into the media timeout down 9-4 with the Irish on an 7-0 run.
- A three-pointer by Monsanto ended the Irish run and cut the Deacs deficit to 16-7 with 9:48 remaining in the first half.
- A steal from Hildreth led to a dunk by Klintman, the freshman’s first points of the game.
- Klintman created his own opportunity in the lane to cut the Irish lead to 18-11 at the 7-minute mark.
- Carr scored in the lane on the next possession, bringing the deficit to just five points.
- The Irish extended the lead once again but a Hildreth-Marsh connection for a slam cut it to 22-15 with five minutes left in the half.
- Appleby took it cost-to-cost on the next possession to cut it back to five points.
- A three from Monsanto on the next possession forced a Notre Dame timeout as Wake climbed back, 22-20, at the four-minute mark.
- The Deacs went into the under-four media timeout on a 7-0 run.
- After an Irish basket, a Hildreth layup cut it back to two and a Monsanto three on the following possession gave the Deacs the 25-24 lead with under two minutes to play in the half.
- A widow open three from Monsanto gave the Deacs the 25-24 lead with under two to play in the half.
- Another Hilreth layup put the Deacs back on top, 27-26, with under a minute remaining .
- The Deacs went into the half with the one-point lead.
- Monsanto led all players in scoring in the first 20 with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The redshirt junior went 3-of-5 from deep.
- Monsanto and Applebye each had a game-high five rebounds at the halfway mark.
- Monsanto opened the second half with back-to-back from the top of the ke for the 33-28 lead.
- Appleby continued the scoring with a layup on the next possession.
- Monsanto’s hot streak continued with his third made three in two minutes for the 38-30 lead.
- On the following possession, Williamson scored his first points with a corner three to extend the lead, 41-30.
- The Deacs went on a 14-4 run to open the second half.
- The bank was open for Appleby from deep to maintain the Deacs 44-34 lead heading into the under-16 media timeout.
- Notre Dame added in six more points, but Appleby connected with Marsh for the first of what would be three straight dunks by the sophomore big man.
- Klintman soon swished a free throw to up the Deacs’ lead to 12 with just under 11 minutes to go.
- The two sides traded points for a bit before Appleby knocked down another three-pointer from the left side.
- Wake Forest stayed in front, 65-52.
- Moments later, Andrew Carr was found on an easy feed for his second bucket.
- Monsanto stayed hot, splashing in yet another trey ball to give the Deacs’ a 17-point advantage.
- Appleby continued to aggressively draw fouls and make the most of his looks at the charity stripe, going 6-for-6.
- Final threes by Klintman and Monsanto put the end to a dominant second half team performance.
- Wake Forest defeated Notre Dame, 81-64.
Coach’s Comments
“It didn’t look very good at the start of the game. I guess I’ve matured over the years because I probably would have lost my mind about 10 years ago. And with about 10 minutes to go in the first half I think we had about four points. But Ty Appleby stayed positive, I’ll tell you that. In the huddles, he kept saying, “we’re fine Coach, we’re fine.” And I’m like, no we’re not. And you know, it wasn’t just not making shots. We had eleven turnovers early and we’re just really not a team that turns it over that much in league play. So that was very disconcerting. Our defense kept us close, and then we finally made some shots.
Obviously Damari, he got us going. To win on the road sometimes, you gotta have that kind of performance from somebody, and he’s capable of that. I think we scored 77 points from the 10-minute mark on and really played pretty good offense and pretty good defense for the whole game. We went through a losing streak. We lost three games by two points. I know it’s hard for Notre Dame. I have a ton of respect for Mike and for their players and I told them that in the line. Laszewski and Goodwin and Cormac Ryan. Those guys I really have a lot of respect for because they’ve been through this league. And so, I wish them the best. All in all, I’m very proud of our team for overcoming a really poor start and winning a basketball game .” – head coach Steve Forbes
Upcoming
- Tuesday, Feb. 7 – vs North Carolina – 7 p.m. // ESPN
- Saturday, Feb. 11 – vs Georgia Tech – 5 p.m. // ACC Network
- Saturday, Feb. 18 – at Miami – 2 p.m. // Regional Bally Sports Network
