Demon Deacons Fall to Tigers in Overtime Thriller

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Entering its final day within the 2023 Shriners Children's Charleston Classic, Wake Forest men's basketball (2-3) faced the LSU Tigers (3-2) on Sunday (Nov. 19), putting up an admirable fight well into an overtime period of play before falling in an 86-80 finish.

Sunday's contest was the first time the Demon Deacons went into overtime versus an opponent since Nov. 20, 2022, when the team faced Loyola Marymount in the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic.

Junior guard Hunter Sallis again had his versatile offensive package in effect, leading the Deacs with a team-high 22 points on 9-of-16 field goal shooting (56 percent). The Omaha native again tied his career high in three-point makes, finishing with four on the afternoon, while adding four rebounds.

Cameron Hildreth and Andrew Carr both were close to reaching double-doubles, scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively, and each grabbing nine boards. Hildreth handed out three assists and five of Carr's nine rebounds were on the offensive end.

Sallis (45 minutes), Hildreth (44 minutes) and Carr (43 minutes) all reached new personal highs in minutes played for a single contest.

Kevin Miller chipped in 19 points and a game-high eight assists. It was a new season-best mark in assists for the newcomer. Marqus Marion pulled down five rebounds in 25 minutes of action.

As a team, Wake Forest shot 47 percent from the floor, making 28-of-60 looks. The Deacs did well at the free-throw line, sinking in 16 of 20 attempts (80 percent). Wake Forest shared the ball well to finish with 15 team assists in comparison to the Tigers' seven.

Defensively, Wake Forest tallied eight blocks against LSU, the most as a team since Nov. 23, 2022 against South Carolina State (9).

The Deacons will return home to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for the first time since opening the season Nov. 6 when the team hosts Charleston Southern on Friday (Nov. 24) at 1 p.m. ET.

Friday's game will stream live on ACC Network Extra.

How It Happened

Andrew Carr got the Deacs on the board with a corner three to start things off.
Hunter Sallis drained a corner three of his own to cut the Deacs' deficit, 11-6.
Cameron Hildreth got in on the action behind the arc on the following possession, getting the Deacs within 10, 16-9.
- Coming out of the media timeout, Hildreth continued the momentum with a driving layup to get the Deacs to 18-11.
Another Hildreth three-pointer got Wake Forest within five, 19-14, at the 14:17 mark.
Sallis hit another three, with a dime from Miller, and the Deacs were within four, 21-17.
A kick out from Keller to Miller got Wake Forest within three, 23-20, at the 12:13 mark.
A Sallis-Carr alley-oop kept the Deacs within three once again, 25-22.
Miller did not allow the deficit to get any larger with a second-chance basket, keeping the Deacs within three of the Tigers, 27-24, with 10:26 to go in the first half.
After a run by the Tigers, Miller got the Deacs back on the board with a pair of free throws, 38-26, with 5:51 to go in the half.
On the next possession, Miller found Carr under the basket for a bucket to cut the deficit to 10.
The Wake Forest defense held the Tigers without a basket for over three minutes prior to Hildreth hitting four points from the stripe to get the Deacs back within 10, 41-32, with under three minutes to go in the half.
Two more from Hildreth kept Wake Forest within 10 with a minute to go.
Wake Forest went into the half down 10, 46-36.
- The Deacs' defense held the Tigers to just two field goals in the final four and a half minutes of the first.
- Hildreth led all scorers with 16 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting, going a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. The junior guard also went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
- Miller went into the half with a game-high four assists.
- As a team, the Deacs had eight assists on 12 made baskets in the first 20 minutes.
Sallis got the scoring started in the second half with a layup off a steal to get the Deacs to within eight.
A turnaround jumper from Miller got the Deacs within six, 46-40, in the first 90 seconds of the half.
A floater and layup from Sallis put the Deacs within two, 46-44, and the Wake Forest defense held LSU without a basket for the first four minutes of the half.
- From 4:50 remaining in the first half to the first media timeout of the second half at 15:58, the Tigers had just two field goals.
Miller tied the board at 46 with 15 minutes to play with a jumper from the free throw line.
LSU did not score until the 13:15 mark in the second half, netting two free throws, and the Tigers only had two field goals in the final four minutes of the first half.
Sallis tied it back up at 48 with a driving layup before LSU made two more free throws.
LSU did not score a field goal until the 12:06 mark of the second half to take a 52-48 lead.
A corner three from Sallis for the Deacs within three, 54-51, with 10:50 to play.
Carr got the Deacs within one, 54-53, with a back down, turnaround jumper.
Sallis' fourth three of the game got Wake back within two, 58-56, with 8:37 left to play.
A pair of free throws from Miller at the 6:40 mark got Wake within one, 59-58.
Two more from the line by Hildreth kept the Deacs within one, 61-60, with 5:59 to play.
A fadeaway jumper from Sallis kept the Deacs within one, 64-63, with under four minutes to go.
A Marion dunk from Miller kept the Deacs within one, 69-68, with under two minutes to go.
With 26.9 seconds left to play, a layup from Carr had the Deacs down just two, 72-70.
Two more points from Carr on a putback tied it at 72 with 15 seconds to play.
With a defensive stop, Wake Forest forced overtime for the first time this season.
- Going into overtime, Sallis led all scorers with 22 points.
Teams traded buckets to start overtime to keep it notched at 74.
Miller got the lead for the Deacs, 76-74, with a fastbreak layup off a steal before LSU hit a three to take the lead back, 77-76.
A pair of free throws from Miller kept the Deacs within one, 79-78, with 1:35 to go.
Carr kept the Deacs within one with a back down jumper, 81-80, with 56.5 seconds left.
Wake Forest fell to LSU, 86-80, in overtime.

Stats of the Game

Wake Forest blocked a season-high eight shots against LSU, the most as a team since Nov. 23, 2022 against South Carolina State (9).
Hunter Sallis finished with 22 points for the afternoon, the third-straight game in which the junior newcomer has tallied 20 or more on the scoring end.
- Versus LSU (11/19/23): 22 points
- Versus Towson (11/17/23): 24 points
- Versus Utah (11/16/23): 20 points
The Demon Deacons have had at least one player with 20-or-more points in each of the first five games this season.
- Cameron Hildreth - 33 points vs. Elon (11/6)
- Andrew Carr - 24 points vs. Elon (11/6)
- Kevin Miller - 22 points vs. Georgia (11/10)
- Hunter Sallis - 20 points vs. Utah (11/16)
- Hunter Sallis - 24 points vs. Towson (11/17)
- Kevin Miller - 25 points vs. Towson (11/17)
- Hunter Sallis - 22 points vs. LSU (11/19)
The Deacs held the Tigers to just 26 second-half points on Sunday afternoon, the fewest points LSU has scored in a second half this season.

Coach's Comments
"First and foremost, the team showed some resilience after being down in the first half. We didn't get off to a very good start but we found a way to get back into the game and get it into overtime. We have two really big issues. One number stands for two things: 18. LSU had 18 offensive rebounds and we had 18 turnovers. We can't win like that and we can't continue to live that way. We beat Towson Friday night and we gave up 22 offensive rebounds. That's about 40 offensive rebounds over the past two games, which is a bad recipe. Then we had 18 turnovers, that's 18 times we didn't get a shot up against one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country.

I was very disappointed in the lack of execution on defense coming out of the timeout. You can say, 'Well they fought hard.', but I'm not here for that. Obviously we don't have a lot of depth and we got tired. Those guys played heavy minutes but they have to take care of the ball. So 18 offensive rebounds, 18 turnovers that's pretty much the tale of the tape." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest will return home to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for the first time since opening the season Nov. 6 when the Deacs take on Charleston Southern this upcoming Friday (Nov. 24) at 1 p.m. ET.

Friday's game will stream live on ACC Network Extra.

Next Event

Team Stats

Hunter Sallis

Kevin Miller

Cameron Hildreth

Andrew Carr

Players Mentioned

Andrew Carr

Cameron Hildreth

Marqus Marion

Kevin Miller

Hunter Sallis

Wake Forest Athletics