Friday, October 18
Birmingham, AL
8:00 p.m.
Wake Forest University
77
vs
98
Alabama (Exhibition)
Demon Deacons, No. 2 Crimson Tide Battle in Preseason Exhibition in Birmingham
10/18/2024 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Newcomer Omaha Biliew had a standout performance in his Wake Forest debut with 15 points, four rebounds, including one three pointer.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Wake Forest and preseason No. 2 Alabama met on the hardwood inside Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham on Friday night in front of a capacity crowd in a preseason exhibition game. Both programs had many highlight plays and each played 10 players in the contest.
The Crimson Tide outlasted the Demon Deacons, 98-77.
Individually, Coach Steve Forbes' squad was led by preseason First Team All-ACC selection Hunter Sallis as he tallied 16 points to go along with a pair of assists. Additionally, newcomers Omaha Biliew from Iowa State and Ty-Laur Johnson from Louisville tallied 15 points on five-of-six shooting and 10 points on four-of-seven shooting as well as five rebounds and four assists, respectively, in their Demon Deacon debuts.
As a team, Wake Forest shot 29-for-60 (48.3 percent) from the floor and nine-for-24 (37.5 percent) from beyond-the-arc. The Demon Deacons assisted on 16 of Wake's 29 made field goals.
Defensively, the Deacs forced the Crimson Tide into 14 turnovers and that led to 21 points. Also, Wake dominated the paint, outshooting Alabama, 32-22.
Friday's contest was a back-and-forth affair early in the first half with the Deacs leading 23-22 at the 9:24 mark in the first half following Parker Friedrichsen's triple. However, that would be the last lead the Deacs would have as Alabama took an eight-point advantage (46-38) into the locker room at halftime.
Alabama controlled the second half with the closet Wake Forest pulled to was four points (53-49) at the 14:18 mark.
How It Happened
"I just want to thank Alabama for having this game. Last year started with the Stroke Awareness game (Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Stroke Center) because of my wife (Johnetta). This time we gave the money to the children's hospital here. We had a really good day as we went over to visit the children's hospital. Alabama did an unbelievable job of setting this thing up and giving it to a worthy cause like the children's hospital. Our players went over there, I went over there. This is what this whole thing is about. They did a really good job with the venue and their fans did a great job of showing up - it was fun. For us, we played pretty well for 30 minutes. We did not play so well for the last 10, which is why we play these things. Obviously, we got hurt on the offensive glass. We got hurt at the free throw line as we did not shoot free throws well and they did. And then late in the game in transition they made threes. They made a lot of threes and they made a lot of those in transition. So, we will go back and look at the tape. We will get better - that is why we do these things. We played 10 guys in double-digit minutes and that was the plan going in. We stuck to the plan and we will go from there. " - head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest officially opens the 2024-25 regular season Monday, November 4th at LJVM Coliseum against Coppin State.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will stream live on ACC Network Extra.
Ticket Information
The full 2024-25 Wake Forest men's basketball season schedule can be found here.
The Crimson Tide outlasted the Demon Deacons, 98-77.
Individually, Coach Steve Forbes' squad was led by preseason First Team All-ACC selection Hunter Sallis as he tallied 16 points to go along with a pair of assists. Additionally, newcomers Omaha Biliew from Iowa State and Ty-Laur Johnson from Louisville tallied 15 points on five-of-six shooting and 10 points on four-of-seven shooting as well as five rebounds and four assists, respectively, in their Demon Deacon debuts.
As a team, Wake Forest shot 29-for-60 (48.3 percent) from the floor and nine-for-24 (37.5 percent) from beyond-the-arc. The Demon Deacons assisted on 16 of Wake's 29 made field goals.
Defensively, the Deacs forced the Crimson Tide into 14 turnovers and that led to 21 points. Also, Wake dominated the paint, outshooting Alabama, 32-22.
Friday's contest was a back-and-forth affair early in the first half with the Deacs leading 23-22 at the 9:24 mark in the first half following Parker Friedrichsen's triple. However, that would be the last lead the Deacs would have as Alabama took an eight-point advantage (46-38) into the locker room at halftime.
Alabama controlled the second half with the closet Wake Forest pulled to was four points (53-49) at the 14:18 mark.
How It Happened
- Two free throws from Sallis gave the Deacs the early 2-0 lead in the first minute of the game.
- A driving jumper four possessions later from Sallis cut it to 8-4, Tide.
- Sallis made it seven-straight points with a jumper from beyond the arc two possessions later.
- Out of the timeout, a jumper in the lane from Sallis made it 9-11, Tide.
- A corner three and a steal from Biliew kept the Deacs moving offensively.
- Biliew followed up with a free throw two plays later to put the Deacs within three, 15-12, at the 13-minute mark in the first half.
- On the next possession, Cosby found Reid under the basket for a bucket and it was 15-14, Tide.
- Biliew hit a two from the top of the key for the Deacs' first lead, 16-15.
- Biliew kept it going on the next play with a putback to tie it at 18 with 11:30 to go in the half.
- Out of the timeout, Lohnson hit his first bucket of the game to keep Wake within two, 22-20.
- A steal from Harris led to a three from Friedrichsen for the Wake Forest lead, 23-22.
- A putback from Abass ended an Alabama run to make it 31-25, Tide, with 5:30 to play in the half.
- Cosby drained his first three out of the timeout to cut the deficit to 36-28, Tide.
- Johnson hit two free throws with three minutes to go in the half to keep the Deacs within single digits, 38-30.
- A three and a free throw from Biliew on the next play put Wake within four.
- Sallis hit a reverse layup two possessions later and Johnson followed with a jumper in the lane to make it 43-38, Tide, with a minute to go in the half.
- Wake Forest went into halftime down, 46-38.
- Biliew and Sallis led all players with 11 points each.
- Johnson had the second-most first-half rebounds on the floor with four.
- Hildreth opened the half with a driving bucket to cut the deficit to six.
- Spillers hit a bucket from Hildreth to bring the Deacs back within eight.
- On the next possession Sallis hit a right-wing three to make it 50-45, Tide.
- A contested jumper from Hildreth out of the under-16 timeout cut it to five.
- On the next possession, Johnson found Spillers at the rim to make it 53-49.
- Four straight points for Johnson ended an Alabama run and put the Deacs back within seven, 60-53.
- Harris got his first points of the game at the rim off a fast break pass from Friedrichsen with 9:30 left to play.
- Sallis hit a baseline jumper to end an Alabama run with five minutes to go.
- Two possessions later Cosby hit his second three of the game.
- Out of the timeout Cosby hit his third three-pointer with under three to play.
- Two possessions later, Harris hit his first three of the game.
- Spillers followed on the next play with his back to the basket for another two points.
- In the final minute, Cosby hit his fourth three-pointer.
- Wake fell to Alabama, 98-77.
"I just want to thank Alabama for having this game. Last year started with the Stroke Awareness game (Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Stroke Center) because of my wife (Johnetta). This time we gave the money to the children's hospital here. We had a really good day as we went over to visit the children's hospital. Alabama did an unbelievable job of setting this thing up and giving it to a worthy cause like the children's hospital. Our players went over there, I went over there. This is what this whole thing is about. They did a really good job with the venue and their fans did a great job of showing up - it was fun. For us, we played pretty well for 30 minutes. We did not play so well for the last 10, which is why we play these things. Obviously, we got hurt on the offensive glass. We got hurt at the free throw line as we did not shoot free throws well and they did. And then late in the game in transition they made threes. They made a lot of threes and they made a lot of those in transition. So, we will go back and look at the tape. We will get better - that is why we do these things. We played 10 guys in double-digit minutes and that was the plan going in. We stuck to the plan and we will go from there. " - head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest officially opens the 2024-25 regular season Monday, November 4th at LJVM Coliseum against Coppin State.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will stream live on ACC Network Extra.
Ticket Information
- Season Tickets
- Men's basketball season tickets for the 2024-25 season are on sale now starting at just $199. Season tickets are the best way to ensure you get access to all the action at the LJVM Coliseum this season at the best price per-game!
- Single-Game Tickets
- Single-game tickets for all games minus Duke and North Carolina will go on sale to all fans beginning on Monday, September 30. International Leadership Circle Members and Volunteer Army members are able to purchase all single-game tickets now (including Duke & North Carolina), and season ticket holders and Deacon Club members will have access starting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25. Fans purchasing full price single game tickets will have the first opportunity to lock in the best available seat locations prior to the cost-friendly 4 packs going on sale.
- ACC Premium 3-Game Pack
- For this season, Wake Forest is offering a new ACC Premier 3-Game option for the North Carolina and Duke games in January. Both packages will start at $120 and will go on sale starting September 30th. For the North Carolina game, fans must purchase tickets to two additional games included already in the package price -
- Georgia Tech OR Notre Dame
- Boston College OR Stanford
- For the Duke game, fans must purchase tickets to two additional games included already in the package price -
- Boston College OR Pitt
- Florida State OR Stanford
- Single game tickets for North Carolina and Duke will go on sale to the public November 18.
- For this season, Wake Forest is offering a new ACC Premier 3-Game option for the North Carolina and Duke games in January. Both packages will start at $120 and will go on sale starting September 30th. For the North Carolina game, fans must purchase tickets to two additional games included already in the package price -
- Bojangles 4-Packs
- The fan-favorite Bojangles 4-Pack will be back for the 2024-25 season! 4-Packs include four game tickets, a parking pass, and a $20 Bojangles gift card and will be available for all home games excluding Duke and North Carolina while supplies last. 4-Packs will go on sale on Monday, October 14. Fans purchasing full price single game tickets will have the first opportunity to lock in the best available seat locations prior to the cost-friendly 4 packs becoming available.
- Premium Options
- Premium season-long and single-game options are available for the 2024-25 season. Floor seats start at $2,190 for the season and newly-renovated single-game suites are available starting at $1,500 per game. Season suites will also be available.
- For more information regarding premium seating, contact Zach Bingham by phone at 336-758-4021 or email at binghaz@wfu.edu.
The full 2024-25 Wake Forest men's basketball season schedule can be found here.
Players Mentioned
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