Friday, December 17
Charlotte,N.C. / Spectrum Center
9 p.m.
Wake Forest University
11-1,1-0ACC
82
vs
79
Charlotte
-55,00 CUSA
1
2
F
Wake Forest
48
34
82
Charlotte
34
45
79
Mucius Drains Triple at the Buzzer to Defeat Charlotte, 82-79
12/17/2021 11:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Alondes Williams poured in 30-plus points for the second-straight game while Mucius knocked down the game-winning triple as time expired.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Senior forward Isaiah Mucius hit a pair of clutch shots and graduate guard Alondes Williams posted his third 30-point performance of the season on Friday night as Wake Forest defeated Charlotte 82-79 at the buzzer in the final game of the inaugural Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout inside Spectrum Center.
Wake Forest's 11-1 start to the season marks the program's best start through 12 games since the 2008-09 season (12-0).
As a unit, the Deacs shot 34-of-65 from the field (52.3 percent), with 17 of 34 baskets being assisted upon. Additionally, the team only turned the ball over seven times, a season-best. Wake Forest never trailed during the win.
Williams finished with 34 points on a career-high 15 makes on 23 attempts, becoming the first Demon Deacon since former All-American Jeff Teague to notch three 30-point games and score 30 points in back-to-back contests. His performance earned him MVP honors for the final game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout.
The reigning ACC Player of the Week also grabbed eight rebounds and dished seven assists, his seventh assist finding Mucius wide open in the corner for the game winner as the clock expired. Williams is also the first Wake Forest player over the past 25 seasons to record at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game.
Mucius finished his career night with season-highs in points (20) and rebounds (eight), as well as career highs in assists (four) and blocks (two). The New York native hit three triples in the second half and scored Wake Forest's final six points.
Dallas Walton continued his string of strong performances, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting along with three rebounds and two assists.
How It Happened
Key Moment
Isaiah Mucius came up huge down the stretch with two clutch three-pointers for Wake Forest. The senior captain's first triple ended a 6-0 run by Charlotte and extended the Deacs' lead to six (79-73) with 1:18 left to go.
After the Niners knocked down two threes to tie the game with 31 seconds on the clock, Mucius received a pass from Alondes Williams in the corner and knocked down the game winner as time expired.
Stat of the Game
Coach's Comments
"Isaiah (Mucius) made a great shot to win the game. I've been saying it about Alondes (Williams) for awhile, he's a great scorer, but he's also a great passer and he's very unselfish. That's what a great scorer does, when he finds himself with all the attention at the end of the game, he finds the open man. I thought we started out playing really well. We played a really high-level offense for the first half and then we quit defending. Credit to Charlotte, they started driving the ball and they got some confidence from three. I'm proud of this team, 10-1 in non-conference but now we turn our attention to conference play." - head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest will be back in action for their ACC home opener against Boston College on Wednesday, Dec. 22 in Winston-Salem.
Tipoff in LJVM Coliseum is set for 6 p.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.
Wake Forest's 11-1 start to the season marks the program's best start through 12 games since the 2008-09 season (12-0).
As a unit, the Deacs shot 34-of-65 from the field (52.3 percent), with 17 of 34 baskets being assisted upon. Additionally, the team only turned the ball over seven times, a season-best. Wake Forest never trailed during the win.
Williams finished with 34 points on a career-high 15 makes on 23 attempts, becoming the first Demon Deacon since former All-American Jeff Teague to notch three 30-point games and score 30 points in back-to-back contests. His performance earned him MVP honors for the final game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout.
The reigning ACC Player of the Week also grabbed eight rebounds and dished seven assists, his seventh assist finding Mucius wide open in the corner for the game winner as the clock expired. Williams is also the first Wake Forest player over the past 25 seasons to record at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game.
Mucius finished his career night with season-highs in points (20) and rebounds (eight), as well as career highs in assists (four) and blocks (two). The New York native hit three triples in the second half and scored Wake Forest's final six points.
Dallas Walton continued his string of strong performances, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting along with three rebounds and two assists.
How It Happened
- Wake Forest opened up the contest on a 9-2 run over the first two minutes of game action.
- Alondes Williams tallied five points while the pair of Khadim Sy and Daivien Williamson added a bucket a piece.
- The Deacs entered the under-16 timeout leading the Niners 18-6 with 13:52 left in the first half.
- The team shot 8-of-10 from the floor and all five starters scored during the game's opening sequence.
- Williams drained his second triple immediately after a timeout to put Wake Forest up 23-8.
- Williams and Dallas Walton thundered down dunks on consecutive possessions, extending the Deacs' advantage to 30-14 with 10:11 remaining until intermission.
- The Deacs increased their lead to 34-18 thanks to shooting 78.9 percent (15-of-19) with 7:38 left in the half.
- Walton reached double figures with a layup, pushing the lead to 19 (44-25) with just under four minutes until halftime.
- Wake Forest entered halftime leading Charlotte 48-34. In total, the Deacs shot 21-of-32 (65.6 percent) from the field. 10 of those field goals were assisted upon, and the team only totaled three turnovers.
- Williams led the team in scoring with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including three dunks. The Milwaukee native also chipped in five rebounds and four assists.
- Walton (10), Mucius (9), and Williamson (7) followed close behind, as the trio combined for 11-of-17 shooting (0.647).
- Williamson ended Charlotte's 6-0 run to open the second half, connecting on a free throw to push Wake Forest's lead to nine (49-40) with 17:44 remaining.
- Mucius rolled in a layup in traffic on the next possession to restore the Deacs' double-digit lead (51-40).
- Williams converted an and-one at the stripe after being fouled on his jumper, bringing the Demon Deacon lead to nine (61-52) with just over 13 minutes left in the contest.
- Wake Forest led Charlotte 63-58 entering the under-12 timeout after a layup from Williams.
- Williams extended the lead back to double digits (66-55) following with a layup and free throw on consecutive possessions with 10:34 on the clock.
- After Charlotte cut the lead to four, Williams and Khadim Sy scored three unanswered layups to extend the Deacs' lead back to double digits (72-62) with 6:44 to play.
- Williams poured in his 33rd and 34th points of the night on a layup to push the lead to nine (76-67) with 4:01 remaining in the contest.
- Mucius ended a 6-0 Charlotte run with his third triple of the game, extending the lead to six (79-73) with one minute to play.
- On the game's final possession, Mucius drained his fourth triple as time expired to secure the victory by a final score of 82-79.
Key Moment
Isaiah Mucius came up huge down the stretch with two clutch three-pointers for Wake Forest. The senior captain's first triple ended a 6-0 run by Charlotte and extended the Deacs' lead to six (79-73) with 1:18 left to go.
After the Niners knocked down two threes to tie the game with 31 seconds on the clock, Mucius received a pass from Alondes Williams in the corner and knocked down the game winner as time expired.
Stat of the Game
- Alondes Williams followed up his 36 point outing against VMI on Tuesday with 34 points against Charlotte, becoming the first player to log back-to-back 30 point games since former All-American Jeff Teague had 30 and 34 against BYU and North Carolina in January, 2009.
- The reigning ACC Player of the Week is the only player in the country to produce three 30-point games this season.
- The Wisconsin native came into the contest being the only player in the NCAA with 200+ points, 70+ rebounds, and 50+ assists.
- Williams is also the first Wake Forest player over the past 25 seasons to record at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game.
- Williams entered Friday's game second in the ACC in points per game (19.8), fifth in the league in field goal percentage (56.8) and second in the league in assists per game (4.7).
Coach's Comments
"Isaiah (Mucius) made a great shot to win the game. I've been saying it about Alondes (Williams) for awhile, he's a great scorer, but he's also a great passer and he's very unselfish. That's what a great scorer does, when he finds himself with all the attention at the end of the game, he finds the open man. I thought we started out playing really well. We played a really high-level offense for the first half and then we quit defending. Credit to Charlotte, they started driving the ball and they got some confidence from three. I'm proud of this team, 10-1 in non-conference but now we turn our attention to conference play." - head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest will be back in action for their ACC home opener against Boston College on Wednesday, Dec. 22 in Winston-Salem.
Tipoff in LJVM Coliseum is set for 6 p.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.
Team Stats
Wake
CLT
FG%
.523
.533
3FG%
.304
.318
FT%
.778
.533
RB
30
33
TO
7
10
STL
4
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
34
FGM
15
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
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