Second-Half Surge Pushes Deacs Past James Madison

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Finding a strong offensive groove in its final 20 minutes of action, Wake Forest men's basketball (9-3, 1-0 ACC) defeated the James Madison Dukes (6-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) on Tuesday evening (Dec. 17) inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It was the Demon Deacons' final test against non-conference competition for the 2024-25 regular season.

Wake Forest made 30 of its 60 field goal attempts for the game, including a 53.1 field goal percentage in the second half. The Deacs scored 17 points on second chance points, compared to James Madison's six, and outperformed the Dukes in paint points (36-22).

Hunter Sallis notched his first career double-double, recording game highs in both points (27) and rebounds (12). The senior guard went 12-of-20 from the floor and also led all individuals in assists with five.

Cameron Hildreth displayed his usual aggressiveness to get looks at the rim, ending with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The Worthing, England, native also swished in two of three tries from downtown and drew five fouls - more than any other player.

Davin Cosby got hot in the final 12-plus minutes, knocking down shots from different areas to contribute 13 points. Tuesday featured his fifth performance of three or more triples made.

Tre'Von Spillers and Efton Reid paced the Deacon defense with four blocks apiece. Spillers also grabbed 11 rebounds while Reid added nine points. Wake Forest finished with nine total blocks – its second-highest mark in a single game this season.

The Deacs have now started at least 7-0 or better at home for the past four seasons, with the Deacs having begun 10-0 or better in each of the past three.

How It Happened

Cosby got the scoring started for the Deacs to end a JMU start and make it 4-3, Dukes.
Out of the timeout, Sallis dropped a putback off a baseline out-of-bounds to cut the Deacs' deficit to 9-5.
Upon checking in for the first time, Hildreth sunk a short-corner jumper.
- Friedrichsen followed on the next play with a bucket to make it 14-9 Dukes.
Back-to-back buckets from Sallis got Wake within one of the Dukes on the next two possessions.
Sallis found Spillers under the basket for a dunk to get Wake within six of the Dukes.
Hildreth hit his first three-pointer from the left corner and Wake was within three with 8:33 left to go in the half.
Out of the timeout, Spillers hit a backdown jumper in the lane to keep the Deacs close, 25-22.
Abass muscled his way to the rim for the bucket to put Wake within one.
- On the next possession, Cosby drove it in for the basket.
Sallis fought his way into the lane for the basket and to get the Deacs back within three with under a minute to go in the half.
On the next possession, Sallis hit a jumper from the baseline for Wake to go into halftime down one, 32-31.
- Sallis led all players with 10 points and eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Hildreth hit two free throws to start the second half and give Wake Forest the lead for the first time 33-32.
A jumper from Sallis on the next trip down the floor tied it at 35-35.
Sallis found Reid on the next offensive possession for the bucket and the 37-36 lead.
The Demon Deacons went on a 10-0 run over 2:34 minutes of action to take a 47-38 lead.
- A defensive rebound from Spillers led to a driving layup from Hildreth to put the Deacs back in front, before adding two free throws the next possession.
- Sallis converted a tough and-one finish to put the Deacs up seven.
- Hildreth buried his second three-pointer of the night with 13:37 left to play, forcing a Dukes timeout.
Out of the timeout, JMU missed two free throws and Cosby hit his second three-pointer of the night for the 12-point lead.
- Back-to-back buckets from Sallis maintained the Deacs' lead and kept them on a 17-3 run over five minutes of game time.
Cosby hit his third three-pointer out of the timeout for the 16-point lead and extended Wake's run, 20-3.
- Another bucket from Cosby on the next possession made it 59-41 Wake.
Reid extended the run to 24-5 over eight minutes of game time with a jumper in the lane for the 61-43 lead.
- The next possession was also a Reid bucket in the lane for the 20-point lead.
Sallis drove the lane for a layup at the shot clock buzzer on the next play.
- The next bucket came from Reid under the basket for the 21-point lead, 67-46, with 4:50 left to play.
Sallis hit back-to-back three pointers with under three minutes to go to keep the Deacs in front by 20 points.
Wake Forest defeated James Madison, 75-58.

Stat of the Game

The Demon Deacons recorded nine blocked shots against James Madison, moving their season total to 57 to lead the ACC. Through the first 12 games, the Deacs are averaging 4.75 blocked shots per game, which is the second-highest mark in the ACC.
Coming into the contest ranked second in the ACC in field goal percentage defense, Wake Forest held James Madison to 38 percent from the field on 22-of-58 shooting.
Finishing with 27 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs, Hunter Sallis tallied his first career double-double.
Against the Dukes, the Deacs shot 50 percent or better for the second time this season, going 30-of-60 (50 percent) from the field.
- In the second half, Wake Forest shot 53.1 percent on 17-of-32 shooting.

Key Moment

The Deacs jumped on a 22-3 run, starting at 16:05 in the second-half.
- Cameron Hildreth first made a swift move to the basket in transition for a layup, right before the under-16 timeout.
  - Hildreth then netted two makes at the charity stripe before Sallis leaped in the middle of the lane for a floater on the next trip down.
- Three-pointers by Hildreth and Davin Cosby increased the advantage to 50-38.
- James Madison was able to get back on the board, but Sallis and Cosby especially steadied the scoring burst for Wake Forest.

Coach's Comments
"Before I start talking about the game, I want to say a few things about Coach Clawson. Dave is a class act, a constant professional, a highly organized and detailed coach. He's thoughtful. He's poured his heart out and soul into the lives of his players and always wants what is best for them. That really impressed me. I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the way that Dave ran his program and carried himself on a day to day basis around school. Dave was really instrumental in me coming to Wake Forest in 2020. I had a lot of phone conversations throughout the interview process. He provided me with some valuable information from the inside and he encouraged me to take the job. As soon as I arrived on campus, Dave empowered me in joining him together, hand-in-hand, to create positive change here at Wake during the most tumultuous period in college athletics over the 30 years that we've been coaching. Covid, NIL, collectives, transfer portal, unlimited transfers, and now the outcome of the house settlement and licensing collectives and how roster management looks.

I was so very fortunate to have the honor to work alongside him and get to know him over the past five years. He provided me with a daily example of what your program should look like and how it should operate at Wake Forest on and off the field. He was a great example for me.

When the decision is made to hire Dave's replacement, I encourage our fans to embrace him. But, I also personally encourage you to thank Dave for his historical impact that his program had on Wake Forest football during his tenure. He deserves it.

I thought we played a good game. Defensively, we had six kills. From the 16:22 mark of the second half to the seven minute mark, we outscored them 24-to-5. We had three kills twice in a row. When you do that, you're locking down defensively, especially against a team that has good stuff offensively. They screen you. They're physical. They're fast. We had nine blocked shots. Efton [Reid III] and Tre'Von [Spillers] had confrontation at the rim, which was important. We took them out of their sets. They got us a couple of times early, but we settled in and they had a hard time scoring after that. We guarded the ball without fouling. Cameron [Hildreth] set the tone with that.

We played like we practiced. We practiced eight times over break and it really showed. We shot 68 percent in the lane, going 22-of-32, against a team that plays drop on the ball screen and plays under the ball screen to really jam it up in there. We executed really well on the pick and roll concepts. We got the ball in the lane 35 times and scored 56 points; 1.22 points per possession. We did a really good job moving the ball and playing inside-out. Hunter [Sallis] had 12 rebounds, which could be a miracle. He played well. Cameron did as well. Efton really impacted the game in the second half with his defense and energy. Davin Cosby made three threes that really opened it up. We ran a set for him and he banged one from the corner to get us going." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest will spend the rest of December on the road, starting with its first conference road test of the season at Clemson on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Tip is set for 2:00 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN.

Next Event

Team Stats

Hunter Sallis

Cameron Hildreth

Davin Cosby

Efton Reid III

Players Mentioned

Davin Cosby

Cameron Hildreth

Hunter Sallis

Tre'Von Spillers

Wake Forest Athletics