Wake Forest Falls to No. 3 North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's basketball team (13-6, 5-3) visited No. 3 North Carolina on Monday evening (Jan. 22) for its first nationally-ranked test of 2023-24. The contest ended in a Demon Deacons 85-64 loss.

Hunter Sallis led Wake Forest in scoring with 18 points on a 6-of-13 shooting clip. The junior guard has now scored double-digits in each of the team's 19 contests this year – the longest streak by any Wake Forest player this season.

Senior forward Andrew Carr posted 14 points while making eight of nine shots at the free-throw line. Additionally, he grabbed five rebounds and recorded two blocks.

Cameron Hildreth finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Efton Reid III chipped in seven rebounds of his own, along with eight points. Damari Monsanto contributed six points in his second showing of the year.

Defensively, the Deacs limited the Tar Heels to just five three-pointers made, tied for their fewest made this season in a single contest. The Tar Heels did not make a shot from range during the first half.

Wake Forest will take a nine-day break from game action up until Jan. 31, when the team takes on Pitt in the Peterson Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and fans can watch the matchup on ACC Network.

How It Happened

For the third straight game, Sallis got the Deacs on the board first for the 2-0 lead.
Sallis found the lane two possessions later to make it 4-4 at the 17:05 mark.
The game stayed notched at 4-4 into the first media timeout.
- Out of the timeout, a free throw from Carr gave Wake the 5-4 lead.
Sallis found the basket again on a layup and the Deacs went back up by one.
Miller hit a fadeaway jumper in the lane to keep the Deacs in front.
On the next play, Friedrichsen hit his first three of the game from the right corner and Wake took the 12-10 lead.
With 10:43 left in the first half the game was tied at 12.
Out of the second media timeout, Sallis backed down to the basket for another two points and to put Wake back in front.
Carr ended a North Carolina run with a backdown hook shot in the paint and it was 22-16 at the 6:25 mark.
- On the next play, Sallis found the basket and Wake was back within four
Hildreth got his first points on the next possession with a lay in off a sideline out of bounds and the Deacs were within two and on a 6-0 run.
- Hildreth found the basket again on the next play and kept Wake within two, 22-24.
Out of the timeout, Carr hit three free throws and Wake was within one, 26-25, with 3:45 to go in the half.
Monsanto hit two threes in a row to tie it at 32 with 1:05 to go in the half.
On the next play Hildreth hit a jumper from the line to put Wake up two.
Wake Forest took the 34-33 lead into halftime.
- Sallis led the Deacs with 11 first half points.
- Hildreth had a game-high six rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Reid scored the first bucket of the second half to give Wake the three-point lead.
After Carolina tied it at 37, two free throws from Carr put the Deacs back in front.
A putback slam from Reid tied it, for the seventh time, at 41.
Out of the timeout, Hildreth hit a jumper in the paint to get Wake back within four after a Carolina run.
Another jumper in the paint, this time from Miller kept Wake within five.
Sallis ended a Carolina run with a free throw to make it 59-46 Tar Heels with 11:12 left to play.
- Sallis followed it up on the next possession with another one from the charity stripe.
Hildreth hit a jumper and it was 63-49 Carolina with 8:30 to go.
Carr found his way to the paint for a bucket to make it 67-51.
- On the next possession Sallis found the lane for a bucket as well to make it 69-53.
Reid hit two free throws on the next possession.
- Sallis hit two more and the Deacs stayed within 18.
A putback from Carr kept Wake within 18 with under three minutes to play.
Wake Forest fell to North Carolina, 85-64.

Stats of the Game

Wake Forest limited itself to six turnovers – marking the second-fewest turnovers in a game this season and the seventh time the team posted a mark under 10, including two-consecutive games.
Defensively, the Deacs limited the Tar Heels to just five three-pointers made, tied for their fewest made this season.
- Additionally, North Carolina failed to make a three-pointer in the first half for the first time this season.
Hunter Sallis continued his streak of 19 consecutive games to open his Wake Forest career with double-digit scoring, as the junior led the team with 18 points on 6-of-13 field-goal shooting.
- He entered the contest sixth in the ACC in scoring and is now averaging a team-high 17.7 points per game.

Coach's Comments

"Carolina had a championship effort tonight, especially in the second half. They are one of the best teams in the country and they played like that tonight. I knew that coming in. I have a lot of respect for their team and players. RJ Davis is the best player in our league. He proved that tonight. I was really impressed with Elliot Cadeau. He is extremely fast with the ball, you can't really speed him up, he gets to his spots and he finds people that are wide open.

Harrison Ingram didn't get much going in the first half but was a problem in the second half. They moved him to the three in one frame there and he took advantage of it backing our guards down. He is a really good player, and all the other guys played their role.

The most important thing we told our team going into the game was that Carolina needed to run at us. We could not run with them or be behind them. During the first half, we did a really good job in defensive transitions, but in the second half, you can talk about whatever you want to talk about, but that is where the game was decided. Part of it was us missing shots and Carolina getting out in defensive transition and scoring easy baskets. Then they gained confidence and the building went crazy. That is on us, a lot of that is, no matter what happens on the offensive end you have to get back. We have to guard the ball and get matched up. We didn't get matched up. One time, Cormac Ryan went down there with nobody guarding him and shot a three.

That is sometimes a reflection of letting your offense dictate how you play defense. Why did we have a hard time scoring? Because they are an elite defensive team. This was a body-between game. They guard like we do schematically. They ice, we don't ice but they drop. They aren't coming off those shooters and you are going to have to beat your man. You have to get in there and be physical in the paint and play off two. Either get a shot or create a shot for someone else. We just couldn't get by them. Seth Trimble, Davis, Ryan, Cadeau and Ingram, those guys can guard. They are also committed to it on both ends, you can tell. We got beat by a really good basketball team tonight. There are not going to be a lot of teams that are going to come in here and win this year because they are really good. They have proven it on the road too. That's a testament to a good team. One half doesn't win a game; I tell them that all the time. That was the case tonight." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next

Wake Forest will take a nine-day break from game action up until Jan. 31, when the team takes on Pitt in the Peterson Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and fans can watch the matchup on ACC Network.

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Team Stats

Hunter Sallis

Andrew Carr

Cameron Hildreth

Efton Reid III

Players Mentioned

Andrew Carr

Cameron Hildreth

Damari Monsanto

Efton Reid III

Hunter Sallis

Wake Forest Athletics