Wake Forest Defeats Minnesota in Final Game of ESPN Events Invitational

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Holding an opponent to under 60 points for the third time this season, Wake Forest men's basketball (7-2, 0-0 ACC) picked up a 57-51 victory over Minnesota (5-3, 0-0 Big Ten) on Friday afternoon in its Final Game of the ESPN Events Invitational.

Now tied for the ACC lead in rebounds, senior forward Tre'Von Spillers matched his season high with 16 boards and poured in a team-high 18 points for his second-straight double-double and third through nine games.

Spillers was joined in double figures by Cameron Hildreth with 13 points and Efton Reid with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Wake Forest was relentless on the glass, outrebounding the Golden Gophers by a 42-27 margin, including 13 on the offensive end to help lead the Deacs to 38 points inside the paint.

The Golden Gophers were held scoreless over the last 2:34 to seal the win for the Demon Deacons.

How It Happened

Spillers started scoring for the Deacs with a layup for the 2-0 lead.
- Hildreth followed with two free throws on the next possession to go up 4-0.
The Wake Forest defense did not allow a Minnesota bucket for the first three and a half minutes of game time.
Out of the timeout, Hildreth found Cosby under the basket on the fast break to tie it at 6-6.
Sallis hit two free throws after a Minnesota three to close the gap, 9-8.
- On the next possession, Johnson found Spillers in the lane for a bucket.
Out of the timeout, Reid found Friedrichsen wide open in the left corner for the first Wake three-point of the game and cut the deficit to 16-13.
- On the next offensive possession it was Friedrichsen who found Reid on the wing and Reid fought his way to the rim to make it 18-15.
Johnson found Spillers under the basket for a slam on the fast break and the Deacs got within one with under nine minutes to go in the half.
- Johnson again found Spillers under the basket to tie it up at 19 after a short scoring drought for both teams.
On the next possession Johnsound fought his way into the lane for the bucket and the 21-19 Wake lead with 5:30 to go in the half.
Spillers hit two free throws to tie it 23-23 with under three minutes to go in the half.
Johnson earned his third assist of the half when he found Harris under the basket for a bucket to keep the Deacs within two, 27-25, with under a minute to go.
Spillers got a bucket on the fast break to tie it at 27 before Minnesota hit a last second layup.
Wake Forest went into halftime down, 29-27.
- Spillers led all players with 13 points and nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
  - The senior went 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
Reid got the first bucket of the half for the Deacs with a backdown bucket in the post to take the 30-29 lead.
Another backdown bucket from Reid put Wake back in front 32-30.
Out of the timeout Hildreth took it to the basket to extend Wake's lead to three.
Sallis found Reid under the basket two plays later for a bucket and on the next offensive possession Johnson found Spillers at the rim to force a Minnesota timeout.
- Wake went into the timeout with the 38-33 lead with 13:30 left to play.
Hildreth found Friedrichsen for a jumper to keep the Deacs in front, 40-37, with under 12 minutes to go.
Out of the timeout Sallis hit a jumper from the lane off a baseline out of bounds to keep the Wake lead.
- Hildreth dished it to Spillers on the next possession for another bucket.
Two free throws from Reid kept Wake in front, 46-41, with eight minutes to go.
Hildreth drove it baseline on the next possession to put the Deacs up seven.
Hildreth again took it to the basket out of the timeout to keep Wake in front.
- Two more free throws for Spillers on the next trip down put Wake up five with under five minutes to play.
Out of the timeout, Hildreth hit two free throws to bring his point total to 11 and keep Wake up by five.
In the final 30 seconds it was again Hildreth to take it to the basket which effectively sealed the win, putting Wake up 56-51 with 14 seconds left.
Wake Forest defeated Minnesota, 57-51.

Stats of the Game

Senior Tre'Von Spillers recorded his second-straight double-double and third of the season, finishing the game with 18 points and a team-high 16 rebounds, including six offensive boards. The Charleston, S.C. native also recorded one block and two steals.
- Through the first nine games of the season, Spillers has recorded 88 rebounds, which ranks tied for first in the ACC this season.

Rank	Name	School	Rebounds
T1.	Tre'Von Spillers	Wake Forest	88
T1.	Maxime Raynaud	Stanford	88
2.	Ian Schieffelin	Clemson	78
4.	Donald Hand Jr.	Boston College	58
5.	Donnie Freeman	Syracuse	55

Wake Forest was locked in on the defensive end, holding Minnesota to just 17 percent from beyond the arc with only three makes.
- The three threes from the Golden Gophers are the fewest allowed by Wake Forest this season and the least since allowing three in an 80-51 victory at Georgia Tech on Feb. 6, 2024.

Key Moment

Clinging to a one-point advantage at 48-47 with 5:38 left in the contest, Wake Forest held Minnesota to just one field goal over the final 5:38 to take home a 57-51 victory.
- The Golden Gophers were held scoreless over the last 2:34 to seal the win for the Demon Deacons.

Coach's Comments
"We did a really good job defensively down the stretch. We had four stops in a row to end the game in I believe four out of the last five possessions. We executed what we ran on offense. We didn't make all of the plays we called, but we had good looks. On the offense at glass we did a good job and got extra shots out of that when we weren't making shots. We switched up positioning a little bit today and it really helped our rebounding. We had Tre and Efton [Reid] on the glass and switched them at one through three. We did a good job guarding [Dawson] Garcia which was the first time really all year long that we've doubled at the post. We've worked on that a lot but hadn't really done it in a game situation, and we held them 3-for-12. They had some cuts to the basket early that weren't pulled in but keeping him 3-for-12 when he's averaging 22 points a game was good. Ty-Laur Johnson gave us a great boost off the bench, making plays on offense and getting some guys some shots. Tre was great the whole game and Cam [Hildreth] was great down the stretch." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest travels to College Station, Texas, next week to face Texas A&M in the SEC/ACC Challenge Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Tip is set for 9 p.m. ET and the game will air live on ESPN2.

Wake Forest Defeats Minnesota in Final Game of ESPN Events Invitational

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Wake Forest Defeats Minnesota in Final Game of ESPN Events Invitational

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