Wake Forest University
Charlotte
Deacons Down Charlotte 80-56 at LJVM Coliseum
12/6/2018 9:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest men's basketball (5-3) returned home with an 80-56 win over Charlotte in the Deacons' largest margin of victory of the season.
Five Deacons scored in double figures for the first time since the season opener against North Carolina A&T.
Freshman Isaiah Mucius led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game with 16 points, while Olivier Sarr and Chaundee Brown each tallied 14. Sarr also pulled down a team and career- best nine boards. Freshman Jaylen Hoard improved his streak of double digit scoring to eight games with 12 points.
Charlotte (2-5) took an initial 5-1 lead in the opening minutes, but the Deacs forced four turnovers and went on a 7-0 run in a three-minute span to go on top. The 49ers found early answers, but Wake Forest pulled away with another big run to take a 19-11 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
Brandon Childress tied a career-high with four steals in the first 12 minutes of action. The junior guard also collected a career-high five boards in the first half.
Childress and Brown paced the Deacons in the opening frame, each with seven points, but a slew of Deacs had solid performances in the second half to boost Wake Forest over the 49ers.
Wake Forest opened the second frame going four-for-four from the field, led by Hoard with a couple of jumpers and a dunk from Brown to take a commanding 14-point, 43-29 advantage. The offensive charge continued for Wake with a triple from Childress and dunk from Olivier Sarr to spark another 7-0 run as the Deacons took their largest lead of the season at 50-29 with just over 12 minutes left in the game.
Sarr continued to impress he threw down another dunk and Brown followed with a three to give the Deacons a 71-52 lead with just under four minutes remaining. The attack for Sarr continued on both sides of the ball as he pulled down an offensive rebound and converted the layup, drawing a foul for the And-1 for a season-high 14 points. He added a block on the other end, giving the Deacons possession with a 77-54 lead and just over two minutes to play.
Wake Forest emptied the bench in the final minutes en route to the 80-56 decision.
After a slow offensive start, the Deacons shot 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from three in the second frame. Hoard went four-for-four from the field and Mucius went two-for-three from behind the arch for the offensive spark. Wake out-rebounded Charlotte 43-31 and added 35 points off the bench.
Following an 11-day break for finals, the Deacs will return to the LJVM Coliseum to welcome Davidson on Monday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.
