Second Half Surge Leads Deacs Past Highlanders

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Behind a 45-point second-half on a 56.3 percent shooting effort in the final 20 minutes of play, Wake Forest ran past visiting NJIT for an 83-59 Saturday night inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Demon Deacons extended their win-streak to four, with all four victories coming by 10-or-more points. The 24-point victory over the Highlanders was the largest margin of victory for the Deacs so far this season and their second win of 20-or-more points (Elon).

Wake Forest now stands at 36-5 overall inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum since the start of the 2021-22 season, and is 25-0 in LJVM against non-conference opponents dating back to December 2018.

For the second-straight showing, five Deacons reached double figures in scoring, led by a new personal high of 19 points by freshman guard Parker Friedrichsen. The sharpshooter made all of one of his attempts during the night, going 6-of-7 from the floor and sinking five of six three-point attempts.

Kevin Miller (15 points), Hunter Sallis (14 points), Andrew Carr (12 points) and Cameron Hildreth (12 points) combined to round out the quintet of double-digit scoring. Miller added six assists and five rebounds to his final line. Hildreth and Carr pulled down six and five rebounds, respectively.

Zach Keller knocked two of four attempts from three-point distance and grabbed six boards.

For the contest, the Deacs totaled a 56.1 field goal percentage mark and shot better than 42 percent from downtown. Additionally, the team scored 42 points in the paint in comparison to the Highlanders' 20.

Wake Forest remains in Winston-Salem for the next three games of 2023. The Deacs will next face Delaware State inside LJVM Coliseum next Monday night (Dec. 18).

Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.

How It Happened

Winning the opening tipoff of the game, Hunter Sallis gave the Demon Deacons the lead on the first possession, driving to the middle of the lane and having the jumper fall from just inside the ACC logo.
After nice ball rotation around the perimeter, the Deacs found Cameron Hildreth in the left corner with the shot clock running down for the first triple of the game to push the lead to 7-2 going into the under-15 timeout in the first half.
- The Wake Forest pressure forced five early turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, resulting in four points on the other end for the Deacs.
Back-to-back threes from freshman guard Parker Friedrichsen extended the lead to 19-12 with 11:12 to play in the first half. The second came on a nice assist from Hildreth.
- It was the fourth assist on seven made baskets to start the game.
- To this point, the Deacs were 7-of-12 from the field (58.3 pct.)
The lead reached double-digits (24-14) for the first time when Friedrichsen converted an and-one opportunity when he banks on off the glass after driving down to the right block.
- Less than a minute later, Kevin Miller extended the run to 8-0 when he pushed in transition and knocked down a contested layup.
At the under-eight timeout in the first half, Wake Forest had built a 29-14 lead and had four players contributing at least five points or more.
- The 10-0 run for the Deacs was ended on the first possession coming out of the TV timeout as Wake Forest had held the Highlanders without a point for nearly three minutes.
After an answering 13-1 run from NJIT, the game tightened to a one-possession game which forced a Wake Forest timeout with 3:49 left before halftime.
With the clock running down before halftime, Matthew Marsh entered the scorebook, splashing a three from the right corner as time expired. It was the first career three for the 7-footer from England.
Wake Forest took a 38-32 lead going into the break.
- Friedrichsen led the way offensively for the Deacs, netting 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting and having a pair of free throw makes.
- Miller went an impressive 4-of-6 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes with nine points while Sallis added eight points on 3-of-6 shooting.
- Overall, Wake Forest was an efficient 14-of-25 from the field (56.0 pct.).
Sallis quickly got into double figures in the second half with a pair of free throws on the opening possession.
- A Miller steal and finger roll on the other end pushed the Wake Forest advantage back to double figures within the first minute of the second half, 42-32.
An answering run from NJIT to make it a one-possession game.
- The Deacs responded with a 10-5 run of their own to stretch it back out to a 55-47 advantage with 12:00 left in the game.
The Highlanders were forced into a timeout with 7:54 left in the second half as a three from Zach Keller and a teardrop from Miller pushed the Wake Forest lead back to nine points.
From that point, the Demon Deacons took control of the game, extending the lead back out to 14 points when Sallis went coast-to-coast and finished through contact.
- A Friedrichsen three from the corner in front of the Wake Forest bench put the game on ice with 2:49 left, giving Wake Forest its largest lead to that point, a 17-point advantage.
Carr, who was the fifth Demon Deacon to reach double figures, pushed the lead up to 21 points with just over a minute left.
Friedrichsen capped off a career performance with his fifth three of the night with less than a minute to play, making it an 81-57 game.
Reserve Kevin Dunn checked in to score the Deacs' final points of the night on a patient baseline drive, scoring his first collegiate points.
Wake Forest defeated NJIT, 83-59.

Stats of the Game

Freshman guard Parker Friedrichsen set a new career-high and led the Demon Deacons with 19 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting, including a 5-of-6 clip from beyond the arc.
- Friedrichsen is the first true freshman to score 19 points in a game since Jaylen Hoard on February 20, 2019 against Pitt.
The 24-point victory was the largest margin of victory of the season and marked the fourth-consecutive double-digit victory for the Deacs.
It also marked the eighth time this season that four or more Demon Deacons recorded double figures and the second-consecutive game with five.
- Parker Friedrichsen - 19 points
- Kevin Miller - 15 points
- Hunter Sallis - 14 points
- Cameron Hildreth - 12 points
- Andrew Carr - 12 points

Key Moment

The Highlanders were forced into a timeout with 7:54 left in the second half as a three from Zach Keller and a teardrop from Miller pushed the Wake Forest lead to nine points.
- From that point, the Demon Deacons took control of the game, extending the lead back out to 14 points when Sallis went coast-to-coast and finished through contact.
- A Friedrichsen three from the corner in front of the Wake Forest bench put the game on ice with 2:49 left, giving Wake Forest its largest lead to that point, a 17-point advantage.

Coach's Comments
"NJIT gave us a very hard fought game tonight, you have to give them a lot of credit. Grant has them playing very hard and they are a hard matchup. NJIT causes some matchup problems because they run 4-5 ball screens. You don't see a lot of those ever and we had to switch them and then drive and a five. We got a little spread out. We had eight kills and a very consistent defensive effort. We played really hard defensively. We did a good job in the second half being body between and we didn't foul. They were .89 points-per-possession that's outstanding.

We had five kills in the second half. Our defense was better than our offense. Even though our offense was efficient at 1.20. Tonight, we were 56 percent from the field and 64 percent from two. Parker played very well not just shooting but he defended, moved the ball, rebounds and he's just an outstanding player. Parker is not a one dimensional player at all. He's got a clip and he can shoot the ball. Boopie played very well and he has been playing well. Our team has made a lot of improvement from Charleston to now. The key will be how much more because there is a lot left in this tank. We have a lot of different ways to score and we can come at you from a lot of different directions. We did a poor job of finding Efton tonight, throwing him the ball when he was open and then putting him in position when he wasn't. Guards didn't do a great job reading ball screens tonight. We tried to make the lane lines skip when it wasn't there and we told them to hit the roll. That is something that we worked on all week and there are a lot of things we can improve on. I was pleased with the win. A lot of teams across the country lose these games." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest remains in Winston-Salem for the next three games of 2023. The Deacs will next face Delaware State inside LJVM Coliseum next Monday night (Dec. 18).

Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.

Next Event

Team Stats

Parker Friedrichsen

Kevin Miller

Hunter Sallis

Cameron Hildreth

Players Mentioned

Andrew Carr

Kevin Dunn

Parker Friedrichsen

Cameron Hildreth

Zach Keller

Matthew Marsh

Kevin Miller

Hunter Sallis

Wake Forest Athletics