Monday, November 6
Winston-Salem, N.C.
8:00 p.m.
Wake Forest University
1-0,0-0ACC
101
vs
78
Elon
0-1,0-0CAA
1
2
F
Elon
55
23
78
Wake Forest
43
58
101
Photo by: Seth Seebaugh
Demon Deacons Down Phoenix in Season Opening Victory Inside LJVM
11/6/2023 11:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Primed for its first official test of the new season, the Wake Forest men's basketball team opened the 2023-24 campaign with an 101-78 win over in-state foe Elon in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Monday evening (Nov. 6).
The Demon Deacons (1-0) outscored the Phoenix (0-1), 58-23 in the second half. As a team, the Deacs went 37-of-65 (56.9 percent) from the floor and 19-of-21 (90.5 percent) from the free throw line.
Cameron Hildreth exploded for a career-high 33 points to kick off his junior campaign, adding six rebounds and a game-high five assists within 39 minutes, which led all individuals. The Worthing, England native was exceptionally efficient in his paint drives, going 13-of-18 from the field.
Andrew Carr had a career night of his own, finishing with a new personal best of 24 rebounds. The 6-11 forward was a force on the glass and defensive end, chipping in nine rebounds and four blocks, both game highs. He only missed two total shots on the night (7-of-9).
Making their Deacon debuts, guards Hunter Sallis and Kevin Miller chipped in 19 and 17 points, respectively. Both newcomers shot 50 percent or better from the floor, with Miller also pulling down five rebounds. The point total was a career-best mark for Sallis.
Freshman Parker Friedrichsen also acted as a spark in his first collegiate contest, contributing eight points and three rebounds, including two makes from distances. His classmate Marqus Marion played 28 minutes and grabbed six boards.
The Deacs are now undefeated against Elon inside LJVM on a 7-0 clip and have not lost to the Phoenix since 1922. Additionally, the team has won 22 straight non-conference games at home, dating back to December 2018.
Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes remains perfect in season openers, advancing to 9-0 in his Division I head coaching career.
How It Happened
Stat of the Game
Key Moment
Coach's Comments
"Elon came out tonight and just punched us in the mouth. They played more aggressive. They were the tougher team and basically just whipped us in the first half. The way we played in the first half is just not acceptable. With where we want to go where we want to be, we can't do it. I don't want to take away the credit of coach Taylor's team, because they came out and were ready to go, I didn't think we were. We played tight on offense. We told them that this was gonna be a team that was going to protect the rim, not by blocking shots, but by being in the gaps, rallying to the ball, making us come off the ball. So we did and we turned it over. They had 12 points off turnovers in the first half, our defense in transition was a wreck.
For the first 15 minutes they were the way better team. We made a run there at the end of the half that gave us some confidence, then in the second half we played like we practiced. We had tremendous practices after the Alabama game. So we have to get it figured out, because we're gonna play some really good competition coming up.
Cameron Hildreth has been playing outstanding. He led us in scoring and assists. Hunter Sallis got us going there. He was ridiculous. Andrew Carr played one of the best games he's played here. He was really steady all game on offense and defense. Boopie Miller had a good second half; he sparked us defensively a little bit by putting some pressure on the ball. He was handsy. We weren't doing that in the first half. We got two freshmen out there, Marqus Marion played 28 minutes. This is called winning: Marqus had two points in 28 minutes, but was plus-26. What that tells you is he makes winning plays, he's a really good defender and you can't get around him. I'm really proud of him and Parker Friedrichsen. Parker played 24 minutes and made a couple of big shots. So you know, it was a good second half, but this is not acceptable, what we did in the first half." - head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest will travel to Athens, Georgia, to face the Georgia Bulldogs in Stegeman Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 10.
Tip-off against the Bulldogs is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will air live on SEC Network.
The Demon Deacons (1-0) outscored the Phoenix (0-1), 58-23 in the second half. As a team, the Deacs went 37-of-65 (56.9 percent) from the floor and 19-of-21 (90.5 percent) from the free throw line.
Cameron Hildreth exploded for a career-high 33 points to kick off his junior campaign, adding six rebounds and a game-high five assists within 39 minutes, which led all individuals. The Worthing, England native was exceptionally efficient in his paint drives, going 13-of-18 from the field.
Andrew Carr had a career night of his own, finishing with a new personal best of 24 rebounds. The 6-11 forward was a force on the glass and defensive end, chipping in nine rebounds and four blocks, both game highs. He only missed two total shots on the night (7-of-9).
Making their Deacon debuts, guards Hunter Sallis and Kevin Miller chipped in 19 and 17 points, respectively. Both newcomers shot 50 percent or better from the floor, with Miller also pulling down five rebounds. The point total was a career-best mark for Sallis.
Freshman Parker Friedrichsen also acted as a spark in his first collegiate contest, contributing eight points and three rebounds, including two makes from distances. His classmate Marqus Marion played 28 minutes and grabbed six boards.
The Deacs are now undefeated against Elon inside LJVM on a 7-0 clip and have not lost to the Phoenix since 1922. Additionally, the team has won 22 straight non-conference games at home, dating back to December 2018.
Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes remains perfect in season openers, advancing to 9-0 in his Division I head coaching career.
How It Happened
- Elon jumped out to an early 6-0 lead before a Marsh block led to a fast-break layup for Miller for the first Wake Forest points of the season at the 17:00 mark.
- Sallis recorded his first points in Wake Forest uniform with a pullup jumper in the paint to make it 9-5 Elon with 15:53 to go in the half.
- Hildreth earned way to the line and went a perfect 2-for-2 to cut the deficit to two out of the under-16 media timeout.
- Carr knocked down a pair of free throws to open his account on the season at the 14:54 mark.
- After pick-pocketing an Elon player, Friedrichsen finished a driving layup for his first collegiate points and tied the contest at 11-11 with just over 14 minutes to go in the half.
- Hildreth ended an 11-0 Elon run with a pullup jumper at the 12:02 mark.
- Miller knocked down his second field goal of the evening with a pullup jumper inside the paint with 8:13 to go in the first half.
- Hildreth knocked down back-to-back driving layups and cut the deficit to 17.
- Carr connected on his first field goal of the season with a layup at the 5:40 mark.
- Friedrichsen made the Deacs' first three-pointer of the contest before two quick Sallis layups followed.
- Hildreth helped create seven-consecutive scoring possessions for the Deacs, as the junior finessed his way to the basket for an and-one layup before converting the three-point play at the free throw line.
- Sallis extended the scoring streak to eight-consecutive possessions on his first three-pointer of the season with 3:37 to go in the half.
- The junior cut the deficit to 12 with another triple at the 2:23 mark.
- Back-to-back three-pointers from Hildreth and Sallis reduced the deficit to single digits with a minute to go in the first.
- The two teams headed to the locker rooms with Elon leading Wake Forest, 55-43.
- Hildreth and Sallis led the Deacs at the break with 15 points apiece on a combined 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) shooting.
- As a team, Wake Forest went 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) from the floor and 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from three in the first half.
- Hildreth opened the second-half scoring with a driving layup 12 seconds in.
- The junior guard knocked down a corner three a minute later to reach the 20-point mark.
- Carr grabbed his first points of the second half with a layup assisted by Marsh before Hildeth continued his strong offensive performance as he cut the deficit to seven at the 17:37 mark.
- A layup from Miller and a jumper from Sallis on back-to-back possessions kickstarted a 10-0 Wake Forest run.
- Great defense from Carr led to a three-point play for the forward on the other end at the 15:19 mark as the Deacs climbed to within one.
- Hildreth gave Wake Forest its first lead of the contest with a jumper at the 13:55 mark.
- Carr extended the lead with his second three-point play of the half to make it 64-60 with 12:31 remaining.
- The senior followed that up with four more free throws on the following two possessions and remained a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.
- The Deacs extended the lead with a quick 6-0 run and forced Elon to take a timeout.
- Sallis knocked down a pair of free throws before a Carr hookshot and Miller fast-break layup made it 74-64 with 8:23 to go in the contest.
- Hildreth found Carr for a layup at the 7:46 mark as the senior became the second Wake Forest to reach the 20-point mark.
- Friedrichsen knocked down a triple before a Hildreth slam made it 81-68 with just under six minutes to go.
- Miller picked it off the opponent and converted a layup on the other end to extend the lead to 15 points after an Elon timeout.
- Hildreth converted a three-point play before five quick points from Miller sent the Deacs into the under-four media timeout with a 91-74 lead.
- Hildreth reached the 30-point mark for the first time of his career with a fast-break layup following a steal.
- The junior added on to his tally with another layup as 1:23 remained on the clock.
- Carr put the Deacs over the 100-point threshold with a turnaround jumper in the paint as he closed out the scoring with 45 seconds left.
- Wake Forest defeated Elon, 101-78.
Stat of the Game
- With a career-high 24 points and nine rebounds against Elon, Andrew Carr is just 161 points away from 1,000 and 66 rebounds away from 500. The senior finished with a team-high +29 plus/minus.
- Cameron Hildreth also set a new career-high with 33 points, surpassing his previous high by 10. The junior guard added to his dominant offensive performance with six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Key Moment
- Wake Forest erupted on a 14-0 scoring run near the midway point of the second half, as multiple players added into the scoring column.
Coach's Comments
"Elon came out tonight and just punched us in the mouth. They played more aggressive. They were the tougher team and basically just whipped us in the first half. The way we played in the first half is just not acceptable. With where we want to go where we want to be, we can't do it. I don't want to take away the credit of coach Taylor's team, because they came out and were ready to go, I didn't think we were. We played tight on offense. We told them that this was gonna be a team that was going to protect the rim, not by blocking shots, but by being in the gaps, rallying to the ball, making us come off the ball. So we did and we turned it over. They had 12 points off turnovers in the first half, our defense in transition was a wreck.
For the first 15 minutes they were the way better team. We made a run there at the end of the half that gave us some confidence, then in the second half we played like we practiced. We had tremendous practices after the Alabama game. So we have to get it figured out, because we're gonna play some really good competition coming up.
Cameron Hildreth has been playing outstanding. He led us in scoring and assists. Hunter Sallis got us going there. He was ridiculous. Andrew Carr played one of the best games he's played here. He was really steady all game on offense and defense. Boopie Miller had a good second half; he sparked us defensively a little bit by putting some pressure on the ball. He was handsy. We weren't doing that in the first half. We got two freshmen out there, Marqus Marion played 28 minutes. This is called winning: Marqus had two points in 28 minutes, but was plus-26. What that tells you is he makes winning plays, he's a really good defender and you can't get around him. I'm really proud of him and Parker Friedrichsen. Parker played 24 minutes and made a couple of big shots. So you know, it was a good second half, but this is not acceptable, what we did in the first half." - head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest will travel to Athens, Georgia, to face the Georgia Bulldogs in Stegeman Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 10.
Tip-off against the Bulldogs is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will air live on SEC Network.
Team Stats
Elon
WF
FG%
.475
.569
3FG%
.435
.308
FT%
.750
.905
RB
22
37
TO
11
11
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
33
FGM
13
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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