Wake Forest University
19-13,10-10ACC
Syracuse - Second Round
17-15,10-10ACC
Williamson’s Game-Winner Pushes Deacs Past Orange in ACC Tournament’s Second Round
3/8/2023 3:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Wednesday afternoon featured pandemonium in Greensboro Coliseum!
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Making its first appearance of this year's postseason section, the Wake Forest men's basketball team put an exclamation mark on the start of its run in the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament on Wednesday (March 8). In a toe-for-toe showing that featured a plethora of highlights, graduate guard Daivien Williamson ended things on a buzzer-beating three-pointer, giving his Demon Deacons a 77-74 victory over Syracuse in the second round.
The win was Wake Forest's (19-13) first in an ACC tournament since 2017. Additionally, it was the team's first victory over Syracuse in a postseason setting.
Williamson finished with 17 points on the day, tying for a game-high. Bobi Klintman showed out in his first postseason outing, totaling a career-high 17 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. It was the freshman's third double-double of the year, also becoming the first Wake Forest freshman to record a double-double in an ACC tournament game since Tim Duncan back in the 1993-94 campaign.
Tyree Appleby controlled the offensive tempo with 15 points and a new career-high of 12 assists while adding six rebounds. It was the graduate guard's second double-double of 2022-23.
Cameron Hildreth finished with 15 points, including a clutch turnaround basket to tie the margin with 35 seconds remaining in regulation. Andrew Carr contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, and three steals while going 4-of-7 from the field. All five Wake Forest starters finished in double-figures for scoring.
Wake Forest has now made a game winner on three separate occasions this season. Tyree Appleby first showed his heroics against Utah Valley (Nov. 15), followed by Andrew Carr versus App State (Dec. 14), and Williamson on Wednesday.
The Deacons move into the tournament's quarterfinal round on Thursday afternoon (March 9), facing No. 1-seeded Miami. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET and the contest will air on either ESPN or ESPN2.
Standout Stats
-
Thursday will be Wake Forest's first quarterfinal appearance since 2009.
-
Bobi Klintman finished with a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds during Wednesday's victory.
-
The 6-10 forward became Wake Forest's first freshman to record a double-double in an ACC Tournament showing since Tim Duncan in the 1993-94 campaign.
-
The afternoon also featured Klintman's third double-double of the year.
-
-
He went 6-of-11 from the field.
-
How It Happened
-
Carr opened the scoring with a layup off a Hildreth assist at the 19:19 mark before the sophomore guard put the Deacs up four with a jumper in the paint on the following possession.
-
Appleby knocked down a floater to open his account before he found Klintman in-stride for a dunk to tie the game at 8-8 with 14:15 remaining in the first half.
-
Klintman dominated the glass early, as the freshman hauled in six rebounds, including two offensive, over the first eight minutes of action.
-
-
Williamson recorded his first points of the afternoon with a driving layup out of the under-12 media timeout.
-
Wake Forest used an 11-0 run over 2:32 of action to stay in the game.
-
Klintman continued to be a menace in the paint as he finished a dunk through contact and converted the and-one opportunity at the line.
-
The Swedish freshman and Taylor knocked down consecutive three-pointers as Appleby picked up his third assist.
-
Klintman cut the deficit to one with a tip-in layup.
-
-
With 6:45 remaining in the first half, Klintman completed his double-double as he brought in his 10th rebound.
-
Appleby found Williamson in the corner for a triple as the graduate guard knocked it down, despite the foul, and converted the four-point play on the other end of the under-four media timeout.
-
Appleby intercepted a pass and took it coast-to-coast to make it a two-point game with 2:43 to go in the first half.
-
The graduate guard tied the game at 29-29 on the next possession with a pair of free throws.
-
Good ball movement from the Deacs led to an open dunk for Carr as Willaimson picked up the assist.
-
Appleby closed out the first-half scoring with a driving layup and sent Wake Forest into the locker room down 33-35.
-
Klintman led the way in the first half with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
-
Appleby finished an all-around first-half performance with eight points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal.
-
As a team, the Deacs outscored the Orange, 18-10, in the paint and finished the first half with a plus-four rebounding margin.
-
-
Hildreth worked his way to the rim for a basket to open the second-half scoring and tie the game at 35-35 at the 19:36 mark.
-
Carr gave Wake Forest the lead with a jumper in the paint off an Appleby assist.
-
Williamson knocked down a catch-and-shoot triple before Hildreth regained the lead with a fast-break layup as Appleby picked up his sixth and seventh assists.
-
Carr made it 44-41 Deacs with a pair of free throws at the 15:58 mark.
-
Klintman recorded a block and a steal on back-to-back possessions before extending the lead to five at the line.
-
The freshman's career day continued as he slammed home an Appleby lob to put the Deacs up, 48-42, with 14:35 remaining in the contest.
-
-
Appleby and Williamson continued the 17-1 run with consecutive three-pointers as Wake Forest held a 12-point lead at the 13:33 mark.
-
The Deacs held the Orange scoreless for 3:08 and forced them into 12-consecutive misses from the floor.
-
Additionally, Wake Forest opened the second half shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and held Syracuse to 2-of-16.
-
-
Carr made it 56-43 with a finish at the rim off an assist from Hildreth.
-
Appleby reinstated a double-digit advantage after going 2-for-2 from the charity stripe with 9:23 to go in the contest.
-
Appleby went 2-for-2 from the free throw line before assisting a Klintman triple to keep Wake Forest in front, 63-60.
-
Hildreth scored on three-consecutive possessions as the Deacs held onto a four-point advantage with less than four minutes to go.
-
The sophomore connected on a jumper on the paint before knocking down a three-pointer off a pass from Williamson.
-
He made it 70-66 with a driving layup as the teams continued to battle.
-
-
With 2:39 to go, Williamson took advantage of a Carr steal and finished a fast-break layup to put the Deacs up three.
-
With 0.5 seconds on the clock, Appleby found fellow graduate guard and Winston-Salem native Williamson for the game-winning three-point jumper that sent Wake Forest to the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament with a 77-74 victory.
Coach's Comments
"What a great game. What a great play by peanut butter and jelly. Peanut butter passed it to jelly and jelly made it. What an unbelievable finish. We really felt like playing them Saturday really was going to help us. We really hadn't seen them all year. It's really the first time in my career I've ever played a conference team for the first time in the last game of the year. It's really kind of a weird deal, but it paid off. We made some adjustments, we monstered Edwards the entire game or doubled him with the four, which we don't normally do, we usually double with a guard. That was very effective. We went under the ball screen versus Mintz, we went over the first time. He made one three behind it late, but he was 7-for-21. Then we monstered Girard, we doubled him if he came in on the Barkley, but he only did that one time.
For the offensive adjustments, we just needed to get out in transition more. I think you saw when we got going that we were really good in transition. Bobi had a three go in-and-out to put us up 15, we made three threes in a row, I thought the roof was about to come off and then it didn't go down. We missed a bunch of easy shots. We got the ball to the middle zone, we got it out quick and then made a second attack off the dribble. We got inside the zone a lot more this time and we ball-screened the top of the zone. Cameron Hildreth played phenomenal defense and Bobi had a double-double in the first half and kept us in it. Ty also had a double-double.
My three first-round games have been a loss on a 40-footer here, an overtime loss against Boston College in Brooklyn and now a win on a last second shot, so my heart rate is still at 120. It's a heck of a win and I'm really proud of our team." - head coach Steve Forbes
Upcoming
-
Thursday, March 9 - Quarterfinals vs No. 1 Miami // Noon on ESPN/ESPN2
