Deacs Battle Utes to Open Charleston Classic

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Stepping into its first test of the 2023 Shriners Children's Charleston Classic, the Wake Forest men's basketball team (1-2) fought through a 40-minute battle, taking on the Utah Utes (3-0) during Thursday night (Nov. 16). The Demon Deacons put up a collective effort but ultimately fell in a 77-70 decision.

Junior guard Hunter Sallis netted a new career high in points for the second time in his first three showings as a Deac. The Omaha native finished with 20 on the night, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor (61.5 percent).

Cameron Hildreth and Andrew Carr contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively. The former also snatched five rebounds and posted a 50.0 field goal percentage mark.

Sophomore forward Zach Keller earned his first start of the season and added a season-high 10 points and five rebounds with a pair of three pointers in a career-high 29 minutes of action.

Freshman guard Parker Friedrichsen gave a spark as a reserve, chipping in six points and a team-high six rebounds. His total on the boards was a personal, best mark of the early season thus far.

Wake Forest swished in 10 three-pointers as a group in the contest – the second consecutive time this year in which the team has registered double-figures in makes from beyond the arc. Additionally, the Deacons' 70 points were the most scored against the Utes in a single game thus far in 2023-24.

Up next, the Deacs will face Towson at 7 p.m. ET on Friday (Nov. 17), with the game being televised on ESPNU.

How It Happened

Sallis opened the scoring for the Deacs with a jumper to go up 2-0 early on.
On the next two possessions, Carr made a backdown layup and corner three for a 7-2 Deacs lead.
A reverse layup from Hildreth at the 16-minute mark kept Wake Forest up by five, 9-4.
After a run by Utah, Hildreth knocked down his first three-pointer of the night to tie it up at 12 with 12:40 to play in the first half.
- Sallis followed suit on the next possession with a step-back three at the top of the key for the 15-12 lead.
A run by the Utes put Wake Forest down 15-18 but a jumper from Hildrerth cut it 18-17 with 9:15 remaining in the half.
A three-pointer from Sallis and a turnover by the Utes at the 8:26 mark put Wake Forest back on top, 20-18.
On the next possession, Hildreth knocked down his second bucket from range to make it an 8-0 scoring run for Wake Forest and give the Deacs a 23-18 lead.
Keller extended the run, 11-0, with his first points of the game on a corner three and extended the lead, 26-18.
Back-to-back jumpers from Hildreth and Carr put the Deacs up 30-23 with 5:48 to go in the first half.
Another layup from Carr gave the Deacs seven made baskets in a row and a 32-24 lead.
With 3:12 left in the first half, Sallis went 2-of-2 from the free throw line to get the Deacs back up by seven, 34-27.
A jumper from the top of the lane by Miller maintained Wake Forest's lead, 36-29, with 2:15 to go.
Two possessions later, Keller made his second three of the half for the 39-31 lead.
A crafty driving layup from Hildreth gave the Deacs their largest lead of the game, 41-31, with under a minute to go in the first half.
Wake Forest went into halftime with a 10-point lead.
- Hildreth led all scorers at the break with 14 points.
- Friedrichsen also had a game-high five rebounds in the first 20 and Miller had a team-high three assists.
Carr opened the second half going 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
On the next possession, Sallis came down with a jumper to keep the Deacs up, 45-33.
Another jumper, this time from Carr, put three Deacs in double figures and kept the double-digit lead for Wake Forest, 47-37.
A driving jumper right outside the lane was good from Miller, his first bucket of the half.
Coming out of the first media timeout of the half, Miller hit his first three-pointer of the game to keep the Deacs' lead, 52-48, with 14:04 to play.
Sallis picked the scoring back up for the Deacs with a driving jumper in the middle of the lane for the 54-50 lead at the 11:58 mark.
- Another finish from Sallis in the lane put the Deacs up 56-53 with 10:55 to go.
Wake Forest maintained the lead with a layup from Keller and slam from Sallis on back-to-back possessions to go up 60-54 with 8:03 left.
After the Utes took their first lead since the nine-minute mark of the first half, a three from Friedrichsen and a floater in the lane from Sallis got the Deacs within three, 65-68, with 3:52 left to play.
Friedrichsen drained his second three-pointer and the Deacs were down just two with 2:27 to play, 68-70.
Wake Forest fell to Utah, 77-70.

Stats of the Game

The Deacons limited themselves to just nine turnovers Thursday night, the fewest against a non-conference opponent since Dec. 17, 2021 against Charlotte (7).
The Wake Forest offense continues to start the season with multiple hot hands, with four players reaching double-figures for the third consecutive game:
- Hunter Sallis - 20 points
- Cameron Hildreth - 14 points
- Andrew Carr - 13 points
- Zach Keller - 10 points

Coach's Comments

"Obviously, the biggest problem is that we gave up nine offensive rebounds in the second half. We did a really good job with that in the first half, we only gave up two. When we gave up nine in the second half, that gave them way too many possessions. We had a really hard time keeping Branden Carlson under control. He is a really good player and we were worried about him. Carlson did a lot of damage inside and out. He is a really good player and Utah has a really good team.

We had too many missed defensive assignments in the second half. We were down 70-68 and we came out and double teamed the post since Andrew was in foul trouble. Utah did exactly what we told them they were going to do. In the zone our guys sunk too low, they have to play it up the court. Our zone defense hurt us. We missed a lot of good looks because we held the ball or over-dribbled. Our players threw up tough shots in the lane. We had guys wide open on the perimeter and our bigs didn't flash the middle on the 1-3-1, even though you can do that or you can throw it in the post. We missed some good shots tonight. I wasn't very pleased with the three or four and ones at the basket in the second half. If you're going to foul a guy, foul him, don't give him an and one. Those are the most discouraging things for me coming out of the game." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next

Making their way into day two of the event, the Deacs will face Towson at 7 p.m. ET Friday (Nov. 17) on ESPNU.

Next Event

Team Stats

Hunter Sallis

Cameron Hildreth

Andrew Carr

Zach Keller

Players Mentioned

Andrew Carr

Parker Friedrichsen

Cameron Hildreth

Zach Keller

Hunter Sallis

Wake Forest Athletics