Tuesday, December 3
College Station, Texas
9 p.m.
Wake Forest University
7-3,0-0ACC
44
at
57
Texas A&M
7-2,0-0SEC
1
2
F
Wake Forest
26
18
44
Texas A&M
29
28
57
Wake Forest Battles No. 22 Texas A&M in ACC/SEC Challenge
12/3/2024 11:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas. – Playing in the second edition of the ACC/SEC Challenge, Wake Forest men's basketball visited No. 22 Texas A&M on Tuesday night (Dec. 3) inside Reed Arena. The Demon Deacons (7-3, 0-0 ACC) fell in a 57-44 defeat to the host Aggies (8-2, 0-0 SEC).
Senior guard Hunter Sallis led the way in scoring for the Deacs, tallying a game-high 19 points while playing all 40 minutes in the contest. The Omaha, Nebraska, native has now been the team leader in points six times this year. Defensively, Sallis scooped four steals during the night.
Davin Cosby contributed 11 points, including three makes from three-point distance. It was the fourth occasion this season in which the sophomore guard reached double figures in scoring, along with being the third showing in which he made three or more triples. Cosby also tied his career high in rebounds (5) and collected three steals.
Efton Reid III paced Wake Forest on the rebounding end with a season-high 11 boards. Tre'Von Spillers snagged seven rebounds and added six points. Cameron Hildreth dished out six assists, leading all individuals.
The Deacons forced 14 turnovers by Texas A&M during the first half, a mark that tied for the most turnovers forced in a half in the Steve Forbes era, as Wake Forest forced 14 in the second half against Longwood (Nov. 27, 2020) and the first half against William & Mary (Nov. 10, 2021).
How It Happened
Stats of the Game
Coach's Comments
"It was a hard fought game. I really felt like we had the game going in our direction, especially in the first half. They only had two offensive rebounds going into halftime. They are one of the best, maybe the best, offensive rebounding teams in the country. We turned them over 14 times in the first half, but we were down three. You would like to be ahead. They are so good defensively and we had a hard time scoring. We were able to score when we got them behind the play and got the ball moving, and that way we could drive it. The drive was never going to be for you and you always have to play out to the skip against Buzz's teams because they rally to the ball so well. In the second half, they got to the offensive glass. They got 11 offensive rebounds and we turned the ball over ten times in the second half. That's a recipe for disaster. Then they went to the line. They've got a really good team. They play a lot of guys. They know who they are, which doesn't surprise me. They are a reflection of their head coach. They're tough.
"It's a disappointing loss for us because it's hard to win on the road and we had the game in our hands. It was about the seven-minute mark that it turned. We had a turnover against the pressure where they're not really trying to steal it and they're just trying to shorten the game with the clock, which is smart. We just gave it to them. We also just missed too many shots at the rim when we got there. That's from physicality and athleticism. Credit to them." - head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest returns home for its Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Saturday, Dec. 7, inside The Joel Coliseum.
Tip is set for 12 p.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.
Senior guard Hunter Sallis led the way in scoring for the Deacs, tallying a game-high 19 points while playing all 40 minutes in the contest. The Omaha, Nebraska, native has now been the team leader in points six times this year. Defensively, Sallis scooped four steals during the night.
Davin Cosby contributed 11 points, including three makes from three-point distance. It was the fourth occasion this season in which the sophomore guard reached double figures in scoring, along with being the third showing in which he made three or more triples. Cosby also tied his career high in rebounds (5) and collected three steals.
Efton Reid III paced Wake Forest on the rebounding end with a season-high 11 boards. Tre'Von Spillers snagged seven rebounds and added six points. Cameron Hildreth dished out six assists, leading all individuals.
The Deacons forced 14 turnovers by Texas A&M during the first half, a mark that tied for the most turnovers forced in a half in the Steve Forbes era, as Wake Forest forced 14 in the second half against Longwood (Nov. 27, 2020) and the first half against William & Mary (Nov. 10, 2021).
How It Happened
- Cameron Hildreth drove it in on the second offensive possession to tie it early, 2-2.
- Two plays later Hildreth got a steal and took it to the basket for the 4-2 lead
- On the next offensive possession, Hildreth drove baseline and found Davin Cosby on the skip pass for the three pointer.
- The very next play was a steal and dunk for Hunter Sallis and the 9-4 Wake Forest lead.
- Out of the timeout, Sallis hit a three to keep the Wake lead at five, 12-7.
- After TAMU hit two free throws, Sallis got the lead back to five with a driving jumper on the next play.
- On a baseline out of bounds, Hildreth found Tre'Von Spillers in the lane for a bucket and the seven-point lead.
- Wake ended an Aggie run with a three from the top of the key by Cosby.
- A Sallis steal led to two free throws from Sallis to cut it to 26-21, Aggies.
- Sallis hit a three from the left wing on the next possession to make it a two-point game with 3:30 to go in the half.
- Hildreth found Spillers under the basket for a bucket to tie it at 26 with under two minutes to go in the half.
- The Wake Forest defense held TAMU scoreless over four minutes of game time and caused four turnovers during that span.
- Wake Forest went into halftime down, 29-26.
- The Demon Deacon defense forced 14 TAMU turnovers in the first half.
- The 14 fumbles are tied for the most in a half in the Steve Forbes Era.
- Sallis led all players with 12 points in the opening 20 minutes.
- Efton Reid III had a team-high four rebounds in the first half.
- The Demon Deacon defense forced 14 TAMU turnovers in the first half.
- Cosby opened the half with a steal and a layup to get Wake within one.
- An offensive rebound from Reid led to a slam by the big man to keep the Deacs within one.
- The Deacs' defense held the Aggies scoreless for over two minutes of game time.
- Cosby kept Wake within one with a three pointer from deep at the top of the key, 34-33.
- A three by Sallis from the top of the key out of the timeout put Wake in front by two, 36-34, with 14 minutes to go in the half.
- Sallis ended a scoring drought for the Deacs with the driving jumper to keep Wake within three, 41-38.
- Two free throws from Abass kept Wake within three, 43-40.
- Another drought-ending bucket from Sallis again kept the Deacs within three points of the Aggies, 45-42, with 6:45 of game time left to play.
- Cosby ended a scoring drought by finding Spillers open under the basket for a slam to get Wake back within 10, 54-44, with under three minutes to play.
- Wake Forest fell to Texas A&M, 57-44.
Stats of the Game
- The Deacons forced 14 turnovers by Texas A&M during the first half, a mark that tied for the most turnovers forced in a half in the Steve Forbes era, as Wake Forest forced 14 in the second half against Longwood (Nov. 27, 2020) and the first half against William & Mary (Nov. 10, 2021).
- Davin Cosby tied his career high in rebounds during the contest, finishing with five.
- The Richmond, Virginia, native last reached that total on Dec. 4, 2023 versus Arkansas State.
Coach's Comments
"It was a hard fought game. I really felt like we had the game going in our direction, especially in the first half. They only had two offensive rebounds going into halftime. They are one of the best, maybe the best, offensive rebounding teams in the country. We turned them over 14 times in the first half, but we were down three. You would like to be ahead. They are so good defensively and we had a hard time scoring. We were able to score when we got them behind the play and got the ball moving, and that way we could drive it. The drive was never going to be for you and you always have to play out to the skip against Buzz's teams because they rally to the ball so well. In the second half, they got to the offensive glass. They got 11 offensive rebounds and we turned the ball over ten times in the second half. That's a recipe for disaster. Then they went to the line. They've got a really good team. They play a lot of guys. They know who they are, which doesn't surprise me. They are a reflection of their head coach. They're tough.
"It's a disappointing loss for us because it's hard to win on the road and we had the game in our hands. It was about the seven-minute mark that it turned. We had a turnover against the pressure where they're not really trying to steal it and they're just trying to shorten the game with the clock, which is smart. We just gave it to them. We also just missed too many shots at the rim when we got there. That's from physicality and athleticism. Credit to them." - head coach Steve Forbes
Up Next
Wake Forest returns home for its Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Saturday, Dec. 7, inside The Joel Coliseum.
Tip is set for 12 p.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.
Team Stats
WF
AM
FG%
.283
.388
3FG%
.214
.227
FT%
.571
.824
RB
33
43
TO
15
18
STL
10
10
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
F/C
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/ Men's BasketballF
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