Saturday, November 10
Winston-Salem, N.C.
2:00 PM
Wake Forest University
90
vs
78
North Carolina A&T
1
2
F
N.C. A&T
37
41
78
Wake Forest
46
44
90
Hoard Propels the Deacons over NC A&T, 90-78 in Season Opener
11/10/2018 4:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Deacons opened the season with a 90-78 win over North Carolina A&T on Saturday
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest men's basketball (1-0) opened the season with a 90-78 victory against in-state opponent North Carolina A&T on Saturday afternoon at the LJVM Coliseum.
Freshman Jaylen Hoard shined in his collegiate debut, leading all scorers with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. The last Wake Forest player to record a double-double in his debut was Al-Farouq Aminu against NCCU in 2008.
Wake Forest found a balanced offensive approach as six Deacs and all five starters scored in double figures. Junior guard Brandon Childress was second on the team behind Hoard with 18 points, while freshman Isaiah Mucius added 13. Sophomore Olivier Sarr fell one rebound shy of a double-double, but recorded a career-high 12 points in the win.
Wake Forest shot 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three. The Deacs connected on 26-of -33 (78 percent) free throws.
The Aggies (0-1) jumped out in front 12-9 early in the first half, but the Deacons got settled to take a nine point, 46-37 lead into halftime. Childress led the charge in the first half with 14 points, going 3-for-4 from the arc and 4-for-5 from the field. He broke into double digit scoring early, hitting 10 points with 7:50 still to play in the first frame. As a team, Wake Forest shot 60 percent from three and 75 percent from the line in the first 20 minutes.
Both sides traded points in the opening minutes until freshman Isaiah Mucius sparked the Deacon offense with a dunk and three pointer putting Wake Forest in front 23-19 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half. Sophomore Chaundee Brown kept the momentum with the home team, forcing an Aggie turnover and following with a three from the right side as the Deacs took a 30-22 advantage.
A big 14-3 run gave the Deacs comfortable 37-25 lead, but NC A&T responded with a 7-0 run of their own until the under-four media timeout slowed the charge for the Aggies. After a 2:35 scoring drought, Mucius got the Deacons back on the board with a putback to push the Deacs back on top by 10, 44-34. In the final minutes of the first half, the Aggies hit five of seven from the field while the Deacs struggled down the stretch, missing their last four.
Freshman Sharone Wright, Jr. opened the second half converting on an And-1 and Brown followed with a fast-break layup as the Deacs took a 16-point lead with 18 minutes to play. After scoring just four points in the first 20 minutes of action, Hoard took control in the second half notching back-to-back layups. With just over 13 minutes to play, he threw down a dunk and Mucius blocked a shot on the other end to fire up the crowd as Wake took a 63-48 lead.
After connecting on six shots from three in the opening half, Wake Forest staggered from behind the arc in the second half, missing its first four attempts. Brown ended the drought, hitting his second triple of the game with six minutes to play as Wake Forest extended its lead 77-62.
The Deacon defense held the Aggies scoreless for almost four minutes, but NC A&T was able to refocus, taking advantage of Wake Forest miscues, scoring 22 points off Wake's 14 turnovers.
The Aggies pulled within eight with a minute remaining, but Wright Jr., quickly answered back with a triple to extend Wake's lead to 86-75. Childress scored his first points since midway through the first half, connecting on four straight charity shots to finish a perfect 100 percent from the stripe, giving the Deacs a 14-point advantage.
The Aggies capped the game with a shot at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough as the Deacons worked their way to a 90-78 season-opening victory.
Wake Forest will return to the court in Conway, S.C., at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Nov. 15-18. The Deacs will face St. Joseph's on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. and will either face UCF or Cal State Fullerton on Friday. Sunday's action is also TBA as Wake Forest will play its third game of the tournament against West Virginia, Monmouth, Western Kentucky or Valpo.
Freshman Jaylen Hoard shined in his collegiate debut, leading all scorers with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. The last Wake Forest player to record a double-double in his debut was Al-Farouq Aminu against NCCU in 2008.
Wake Forest found a balanced offensive approach as six Deacs and all five starters scored in double figures. Junior guard Brandon Childress was second on the team behind Hoard with 18 points, while freshman Isaiah Mucius added 13. Sophomore Olivier Sarr fell one rebound shy of a double-double, but recorded a career-high 12 points in the win.
Wake Forest shot 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three. The Deacs connected on 26-of -33 (78 percent) free throws.
The Aggies (0-1) jumped out in front 12-9 early in the first half, but the Deacons got settled to take a nine point, 46-37 lead into halftime. Childress led the charge in the first half with 14 points, going 3-for-4 from the arc and 4-for-5 from the field. He broke into double digit scoring early, hitting 10 points with 7:50 still to play in the first frame. As a team, Wake Forest shot 60 percent from three and 75 percent from the line in the first 20 minutes.
Both sides traded points in the opening minutes until freshman Isaiah Mucius sparked the Deacon offense with a dunk and three pointer putting Wake Forest in front 23-19 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half. Sophomore Chaundee Brown kept the momentum with the home team, forcing an Aggie turnover and following with a three from the right side as the Deacs took a 30-22 advantage.
A big 14-3 run gave the Deacs comfortable 37-25 lead, but NC A&T responded with a 7-0 run of their own until the under-four media timeout slowed the charge for the Aggies. After a 2:35 scoring drought, Mucius got the Deacons back on the board with a putback to push the Deacs back on top by 10, 44-34. In the final minutes of the first half, the Aggies hit five of seven from the field while the Deacs struggled down the stretch, missing their last four.
Freshman Sharone Wright, Jr. opened the second half converting on an And-1 and Brown followed with a fast-break layup as the Deacs took a 16-point lead with 18 minutes to play. After scoring just four points in the first 20 minutes of action, Hoard took control in the second half notching back-to-back layups. With just over 13 minutes to play, he threw down a dunk and Mucius blocked a shot on the other end to fire up the crowd as Wake took a 63-48 lead.
After connecting on six shots from three in the opening half, Wake Forest staggered from behind the arc in the second half, missing its first four attempts. Brown ended the drought, hitting his second triple of the game with six minutes to play as Wake Forest extended its lead 77-62.
The Deacon defense held the Aggies scoreless for almost four minutes, but NC A&T was able to refocus, taking advantage of Wake Forest miscues, scoring 22 points off Wake's 14 turnovers.
The Aggies pulled within eight with a minute remaining, but Wright Jr., quickly answered back with a triple to extend Wake's lead to 86-75. Childress scored his first points since midway through the first half, connecting on four straight charity shots to finish a perfect 100 percent from the stripe, giving the Deacs a 14-point advantage.
The Aggies capped the game with a shot at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough as the Deacons worked their way to a 90-78 season-opening victory.
Wake Forest will return to the court in Conway, S.C., at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Nov. 15-18. The Deacs will face St. Joseph's on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. and will either face UCF or Cal State Fullerton on Friday. Sunday's action is also TBA as Wake Forest will play its third game of the tournament against West Virginia, Monmouth, Western Kentucky or Valpo.
Team Stats
M-488
M-749
FG%
.458
.500
3FG%
.423
.471
FT%
.684
.788
RB
22
44
TO
9
14
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballCenter
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