Deacs Catch Fire in Second Half En Route to Dominant Final Non-Conference Outing Over Presbyterian

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Focused on closing out its 2023-24 non-conference slate on a high note, Wake Forest men's basketball (8-3) accomplished just that on Thursday afternoon, as the Demon Deacons put on a second-half clinic to post a 91-68 victory over the Presbyterian Blue Hose (7-7).

The Deacs bumped their ongoing winning streak to six consecutive games – the longest streak for the program since Nov. 10-26 in 2021.

The victory involved the Deacons making eight three-pointers on 14 attempts (57.1 percent) – the highest percentage of the season. The team has scored 80-or-more points in three consecutive games for the first time since a four-game stretch in January during the 2022-23 campaign (Jan. 7-17).

For the fourth-straight showing, five Deacons registered double-digits in points, led by Andrew Carr's 21. The senior forward is now 15 points away from crossing the 1,000-point plateau for his collegiate career. Having grabbed his 500th career rebound earlier this week against Delaware State (Dec. 18), Carr continued his strong presence on the glass, leading all individuals with nine boards on Thursday.

Hunter Sallis finished with 20 points – a performance that included a handful of highlight plays. The 6-5 guard was incredibly efficient in his looks, going 9-of-12 from the floor (75.0 percent). It was Sallis' fifth game this season with 20 or more points.

Kevin Miller enjoyed a 19-point performance, finishing 6-of-9 from the floor and going perfect from both three-point distance (3-of-3) and the free-throw line (4-of-4). He also dished out a team-high seven assists to just one turnover.

Making his first start as a Deac, Efton Reid III reached a new season high in points (14) while grabbing eight rebounds and impressing on the defensive end with a game-high five blocks. Cameron Hildreth contributed 11 points. Zach Keller impacted the Deacon defense with a new career high of three blocks.

Wake Forest will close out 2023 at home with the first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) matchup of the season, hosting the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, Dec. 30.

Tip off is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will air live on ESPN2.

How It Happened

After winning the opening tip off, Carr drained a three from the corner for the first points of the game.
- Off a Miller assist, Carr was fouled on a made jump shot and converted the and-one, scoring the first five points for Wake.
Sallis recorded his first points of the game on a driving lay up giving the Deacs a 6-5 lead.
For his first points of the game, Miller drained a three to give the Deacs an 11-10 edge at the 17:10 mark.
Hildreth went 2-for-2 and 1-for-2 in back-to-back trips to the line to add on to the 15-13 lead.
- After those trips to the line, Hildreth was fouled on a lay-up and converted the and-one to score six consecutive points for the Deacs and give them the 18-13 lead.
After a defensive rebound from Carr, Sallis drove the paint to add a bucket to the 20-13 lead.
With a perfect 2-for-2 clip from the field, Miller hit a pull-up jumper to give the Deacs a 22-20 lead out of the timeout.
Reid scored on consecutive offensive possessions inside the paint to give the Deacs the 26-24 lead.
Off of a Miller steal, Friedrichsen hit his first three of the game to add to the 29-24 lead going into the media timeout.
Sallis drove the lane to give the Deacs a 31-26 lead at the six minute mark of the first half.
The Deacs' defense held Presbyterian College without a field goal for nearly four minutes of action.
At the line, Sallis went 1-for-2 to give the Deacs a 32-30 lead late in the half.
After a block from Carr and a defensive rebound from Reid, Carr gave the Deacs a 34-30 lead with a lay up.
Sallis drained his first three of the game to add to the 37-33 Wake Forest lead.
In the final seconds, Miller was fouled on a turnaround jumper and converted the and-one to give the Deacs a 40-37 lead.
Wake Forest took a 40-37 lead into the locker room.
- Sallis led the team with 10 points going 4-of-5 from the floor.
- Carr and Miller added eight points apiece. Carr hauled in a team-high five rebounds.
- As a team the Deacs shot 14-of-28 (50 percent) from the floor and 8-of-10 (80 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Deacs scored their first points of the second half courtesy of a Sallis lay-up to add to the 42-40 lead.
Off an assist from Miller, Reid threw down a dunk to give the Deacs a 44-40 lead early in the second half.
After a missed lay up by Miller, Carr slammed the put back to make the score 46-40 on a 6-0 Wake Forest run.
Presbyterian College committed a technical foul and Miller went 2-for-2 at the line giving the Deacs a 48-40 lead on an 8-0 run.
After the media timeout, Carr drained a three from the left wing to give the Deacs a 51-40 edge and continue their 11-0 run.
Carr grabbed a defensive board which led to a Sallis slam dunk to add to the three minute 13-0 run for the Deacs.
Reid drained a hookshot to add to the Deacs 55-42 lead just over five minutes into the second half.
After a Presbyterian College turnover, Miller added another three to the Deacs 61-44 lead.
- Miller was 3-of-3 from behind the arc at the 12:45 mark in the second half
Sallis drained a turnaround jumper to continue the six minute, 23-4 Wake Forest run and added to the 63-44 lead.
Out of the media timeout, Miller threw up an alley-oop to Carr to make the score 65-46.
Nearing the 20-point mark, Sallis scored a layup off a Friedrichsen assist to give the Deacs a 67-46 lead.
Miller was fouled on a jump shot and converted the and-one to give the Deacs a 70-48 edge.
On the fast break, Sallis slammed an alley-oop to add to the 72-48 Wake Forest lead.
Carr converted a second chance lay up to make the Wake Forest lead 74-48.
From behind the arc, Friedrichsen drained his second three of the game to add to the 77-50 Demon Deacon lead.
Reid scored off a lay up to give the Deacs a 79-56 advantage going into the media timeout.
- Wake Forest went 3-of-3 on three straight possessions.
At the line, Reid went 2-fo-2 to give Wake Forest an 81-56 lead.
Following a defensive rebound from Friedrichsen, Hildreth converted a driving lay up to give the Deacs an 83-56 advantage.
- Wake Forest went 4-of-4 on their past four shot attempts.
Presbyterian College sent Hildrith to the free throw line where he went 2-for-2 to give Wake Forest an 85-56 lead.
On back-to-back trips to the line, Carr went 4-for-4 as he hit 21 points and gave the Deacs an 87-59 lead.
Reid was fouled on the put back attempt off a Carr jumpshot, he went 2-for-2 from the line and added to the 91-63 Wake Forest lead in the final minutes of the game.
Wake Forest emptied the bench and defeated Presbyterian, 91-68.

Stats of the Game

With the win, Wake Forest is now 38-5 inside LJVM Coliseum since the start of the 2021-22 season, and is 27-0 in LJVM against non-conference opponents dating back to December 2018.
It also marked the 10th time this season that four or more Demon Deacons recorded double figures and the fourth-consecutive game with five:
- Kevin Miller - 19 points
- Andrew Carr - 21 points
- Hunter Sallis - 20 points
- Cameron Hildreth - 11 points
- Efton Reid III - 14 points
Additionally, the Demon Deacons have had at least one player with 20-or-more points in nine of the first 11 games this season and fourth time with multiple:
- 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 vs. LSU (11/19)
- Cameron Hildreth - 21 vs. Charleston Southern (11/24)
- Andrew Carr - 22 vs. Florida (11/29)
- Hunter Sallis - 24 vs. Florida (11/29)
- Kevin Miller - 23 vs. Rutgers (12/6)
- Hunter Sallis - 20 vs. Presbyterian (12/21)
- Andrew Carr - 21 vs. Presbyterian (12/21)
Efton Reid III became the first Wake Forest player since Oliver Sarr (Nov. 17, 2019) to record five or more blocks in a game.

Key Moment

At the 18:02 mark in the second half, the Demon Deacons began a 13-0 run with a driving layup from Hunter Sallis.
- Dunks from Reid III and Carr, followed by a pair of free throws by Miller over the span of one minute, quickly extended the Wake Forest lead to eight.
- A triple by Carr at the 15:44 mark and then a highlight slam from Sallis closed out the run, as the Deacs took full control of the contest.

Coach's Comments

"I know when people look at the schedule and look at the name of the team, they tend to think a game like this would be easy. I have watched a lot of Presbyterian and I have been very impressed by their team. They are a top-20 team in the country in transition points and in the top-50 of drawing fouls and getting to the line. During the first half, we had a real problem because we fouled too much, which we haven't done this season. Presbyterian went 9-for-11 from the free throw line and made six threes, which kept them in the game. Sometimes you have to give credit to the opponent as well. I told their coach after the game that they have a chance to win some games in the Big South.

"In the second half, we didn't foul as much and they made five free throws in the second half. Two of those free throws were probably in the last 10 seconds with two threes. I thought we played a lot better defensively. Our offense was much better than our defense today, which it has been awhile since that has happened. It is great to see the offense playing well, but we need to finish the game defensively, which I don't think we did. We had their efficiency numbers down in the 30s and they ended the game at 42 percent. At some point, you have to throw up the white flag as well.

"All in all, I'm very pleased with our balance on offense. I didn't start Efton because Zach did anything wrong. I talked to him about it and thought starting Efton would get him off to a better start. Efton needs game minutes as well – he didn't play a lot at Gonzaga. He is just starting off now as well, so he needs to get his legs under him. I thought he had a great day. Also, Efton and Andrew did a great job passing to one another. Boopie, Hunter, Parker and Cam also played very well this afternoon. 8-3 at the turn, and we are pretty pleased." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next

Wake Forest will close out 2023 at home with the first ACC matchup of the season when they host the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, December 30.

Tip off is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will air live on ESPN2.

Deacs Catch Fire in Second Half En Route to Dominant Final Non-Conference Outing Over Presbyterian

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Team Stats

Andrew Carr

Hunter Sallis

Kevin Miller

Efton Reid III

Players Mentioned

Andrew Carr

Cameron Hildreth

Zach Keller

Kevin Miller

Efton Reid III

Hunter Sallis

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Deacs Catch Fire in Second Half En Route to Dominant Final Non-Conference Outing Over Presbyterian

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Team Stats

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Andrew Carr

Hunter Sallis

Kevin Miller

Efton Reid III

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Andrew Carr

Cameron Hildreth

Zach Keller

Kevin Miller

Efton Reid III

Hunter Sallis

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