Deacs Defeat Yellow Jackets in Dominant ACC Road Win

ATLANTA, Ga. - A heavy, controlled effort on both ends of the floor was put on full display by Wake Forest men's basketball (15-7, 7-4) during Tuesday evening (Feb. 6), as the Demon Deacons routed Georgia Tech (10-13, 3-9) in an 80-51 decision.

Coming off a 99-70 home win over Syracuse this past Saturday (Feb. 3), Wake Forest recorded back-to-back wins by 29 or more points in consecutive conference games for the first time since the Deacs did so in the league's inaugural season in 1953-54.

Wake Forest is on a three-game winning streak versus the Yellow Jackets, as Tuesday's win additionally tied for the ninth-largest road victory in program history and fifth-largest such win against an ACC foe.

The Deacs' defense impressed as a whole, holding the host to just a 28.3 field goal percentage and 12.5 three-point clip (3-for-24). Wake Forest additionally outrebounded Georgia Tech, 42-31, and held a 46-20 lead after the first 20 minutes – tied for the fifth-largest halftime lead over an ACC opponent in program history.

All five starters for the Deacs reached double figures in scoring, led by Cameron Hildreth's game-high 17 points. The Worthing, England native made all seven of his attempts at the free-throw line and dished out four assists while scooping a season-high three steals.

Kevin Miller and Andrew Carr chipped in 13 points apiece. Carr snagged 10 rebounds to post his fourth double-double of 2023-24. Miller added four rebounds and three assists to his line in 28 minutes played.

Efton Reid III and Hunter Sallis totaled 10 points, with the former also grabbing seven rebounds. Damari Monsanto netted three triples to contribute 11 points in just over 15 minutes.

Wake Forest went a perfect 17-of-17 from the charity stripe against the Yellow Jackets. It marked the second-most made free throws without a miss in program history and most since the 32-of-32 performance against North Carolina on Jan. 15, 2005.

The Deacs shared the ball well to have 17 assists on 29 made baskets.

Wake Forest returns to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for a rematch against the NC State Wolfpack this Saturday afternoon (Feb. 10). Action is slated to start at 4 p.m. ET and will air live on ACC Network.

How It Happened

Carr fought in the paint for the first points for the Deacs.
After going coast-to-coast with a defensive rebound, Hildreth capitalized on two free throws for the 4-3 lead.
On the next possession Sallis hit a jumper from inside the lane to go up three.
Carr then found Reid for the layup and Miller followed it up with another quick bucket and Wake went up 10-3 at the 16:42 mark.
- A three from Car on the next play extended the Deacs' run to 13-0 with a 10-point lead.
Out of the timeout, Hildreth extended the lead with a layup and converted the and-one to make the run 16-0.
- The Wake Forest defense held Georgia Tech scoreless for over four minutes.
Hildreth got in the paint for a jumper and the 15-point lead.
- Hildreth then found Carr in the paint for another bucket.
- The Deacs' defense extended the Georgia Tech drought to over seven minutes while the offense was on a 20-0 run.
Monsanto hit his first three of the game to extend the run, 23-0.
- At the 10:49 mark, the Yellow Jackets had not scored since the 19:01 mark, over eight minutes of game action.
Miller hit two free throws to make it a 25-2 run after Tech also made two free throws.
On the next possession, Sallis made his way to the rim for a slam and the 22-point lead.
Hildreth followed that up with two more points and Wake had the 29-5 lead at the 8:38 mark in the first half.
A turnaround jumper from Carr extended Wake's lead to 26.
- Two free throws from Carr extended the lead to 28.
Sallis found Reid under the basket for a bucket and the 29-point lead.
At the 4:10 mark, Georgia Tech made their first field goal since 19:01 in the first half.
A long-range three from Monsanto, followed by a layup from Hildreth, put Wake up 40-13 with 3:01 to go in the half.
A turnaround hook shot from Reid gave Wake the 24-point lead and Monsanto extended it to 26 with two free throws.
Sallis got into the lane for a jumper and Wake took the 46-20 lead into halftime.
- Carr and Hildreth led all scorers with 11 points each and Carr led all players with six first-half rebounds.
- Georgia Tech's first-half field goal percentage of 15.4 was the third-lowest FG percentage allowed in a half in program history.
Hildreth opened the scoring in the second half with two free throws and a driving layup for four quick points.
Two possessions later Miller had back-to-back buckets and Wake was up 32, 55-23, with 17:03 to play.
Two more free throws from Hildreth maintained the Deacs 32-point lead.
Sallis found Reid under the basket on the next possession and took it the basket on his own on the possession after that for the 34-point lead.
Hildreth then found Sallis for a pullup jumper and Wake had a 35-point lead with 11:52 to go, 63-28.
Monsanto found Marsh under the basket for the slam and the 37-point lead.
Two plays later, Monsanto hit his third three of the game to keep Wake ahead by 37.
Carr hit two free throws to extend the lead to 38.
Two free throws from Miller ended a 6-0 Georgia Tech run and kept Wake in the lead by 34.
A layup from Miller kept the lead at 34, 74-40, with 4:52 to play.
A slam from Reid maintained the lead and got him to double-digit scoring, with 10 points on the night.
Wake Forest went into the final media timeout with the 76-46 lead and under three minutes to play.
Canka got to the lane for a layup to keep Wake up 30.
Friedrichsen got the steal for the slam and Wake was up 31 with a minute to go.
Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech, 80-51.

Stats of the Game

With the win, Wake Forest has improved to 43-46 all-time against Georgia Tech.
- The win was just the second for Wake inside McCamish Pavilion, with the first also coming in the Steve Forbes era back in January 2022.
- The Deacs have now won three straight against the Yellow Jackets.
With the 29-point victory, the Demon Deacons tied the ninth-largest road win in program history and fifth-largest such win against an ACC opponent.
Additionally, the Deacs have won back-to-back ACC games by at least 29 points for the first time since 1953-54.
- The last instance saw Wake Forest beat Clemson in consecutive games on Feb. 6 and Feb. 9 in 1954 by scores of 101-69 and 98-57, respectively.
- It also marked the largest aggregate scoring margin (+58) for the Deacs in consecutive ACC games since January of 2002 (+63).
The Yellow Jackets were held to 3-of-24 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc, the second-lowest percentage allowed by the Deacons the season and lowest since the 0-for-8 game by NC State on Jan. 16.
All five Wake Forest starters reached double figures in scoring for the first time since the ACC opener against Virginia Tech (Dec. 30, 2023).
- Cameron Hildreth - 17
- Kevin Miller - 13
- Andrew Carr - 13
- Hunter Sallis - 10
- Efton Reid - 10

Key Moment

After allowing a Georgia Tech three at the 19:01 mark, Wake Forest went on its longest run of the season as it scored 23-consecutive points spanning over eight minutes.
- Andrew Carr kicked off the run with a layup, followed by two drawn free throws for Cameron Hildreth.
- Juniors Hunter Sallis and Efton Reid III then made their first baskets of the game, happening inside the arc.
- Kevin Miller sprinted past everyone in the open floor for a lay-in before Carr knocked in a triple from the right wing.
- Out of the first media timeout, Hildreth again found his way to the rim for five points in a row.
- A neat shot by Carr and Damari Monsanto triple closed out the surging minutes of unanswered play.

Coach's Comments
"The most important score of the game for me is 34-31. It was the score of the second half, and we won. It's human nature when you're up by that much to relax. I challenged our team at halftime to grow up, finish the game and play like a championship level team.

Going back to what Andrew said earlier; we had two tremendous practices. On Sunday night we went live after we played on Saturday. We practiced really hard yesterday and we went hard today. I thought they were ready to play.

We had seven kills in the first half. That might be the most kills I've had in a head coach in a half, especially in the first half. Our activity on defense was outstanding. Our defense was better and on offensive we scored 80. We rebounded the ball. Some of our problems in the past have been giving up offensive rebounds in the second half. We did a really good job of not doing that. We shared the ball, as a team we had 17 assists on 29 baskets with six guys and double figures. I don't think we missed a free throw. We got open shots on our terms and we got off the ball quicker. We've been really working on that on offense and creating for others, and that showed tonight. We played at a really high level." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest returns to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for a rematch against the NC State Wolfpack this Saturday afternoon (Feb. 10). Action is slated to start at 4 p.m. ET and will air live on ACC Network.

Next Event

Team Stats

Cameron Hildreth

Kevin Miller

Andrew Carr

Damari Monsanto

Players Mentioned

Andrew Carr

Cameron Hildreth

Kevin Miller

Damari Monsanto

Efton Reid III

Hunter Sallis

Wake Forest Athletics