Deacs Fall Short at Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Playing in its final road game of the 2023-24 regular season, Wake Forest men's basketball (18-11, 10-8) faced Virginia Tech (16-13, 8-10) on Saturday evening (March 2) in Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies were able to protect their home floor, as the Demon Deacons fell in an 87-76 decision.

For the second time this week, Kevin Miller led Wake Forest in scoring – posting 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor. The Chicago native also grabbed five rebounds and handed out a team-high six assists in 35 minutes of game action.

Along with Miller, four other Deacons reached double figures in points – Efton Reid III (13), Cameron Hildreth (12), Parker Friedrichsen (12) and Hunter Sallis (11).

Reid was close to notching a double-double, as the junior big man brought down nine rebounds to tie for a game high. Hildreth added four assists to his line while Sallis chipped in five boards.

The Deacs shot 50 percent from the floor (29-of-58 field goals made) and swished in 11 three pointers on a 44.0 percentage from outside the arc.

Wake Forest will wrap the regular season at home next week with two appearances inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, beginning with a Tuesday night (March 5) tilt versus Georgia Tech. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. ET and be shown on ACC Network.

How It Happened

Sallis hit a three from the top of the key 25 seconds into the game for the 3-0 Wake Forest lead.
Three possessions later, Carr hit his first three-pointer to put Wake back in the lead, 6-5, after back-to-back Hokie scores.
A three-pointer from Miller and a bucket from Reid got Wake ahead, 11-7, four minutes in.
- Reid followed it up with his first three-pointer of the game for the 14-7 lead.
Hildreth hit a corner three on the next possession to make it an 11-3 scoring run for Wake.
Sallis continued the scoring with a jumper in the lane as Wake Forest went 6-of-6 on six straight possessions for the seven-point lead.
Out of the timeout, Carr hit two free throws to extend Wake's lead.
A defensive stop by Marsh and Miller led to a three-pointer from Hildreth for the 24-16 lead.
On the next possession, Hildreth converted an and-one for the eight-point lead.
- A floating jumper from Miller on the next possession maintained the lead.
Friedrichsen hit his first three of the game from the left wing for Wake's largest lead, 32-22, with 8:35 to go in the half.
A hook shot from Reid and a three-pointer from Friedrichsen kept Wake up by double digits.
Out of the timeout, Miller hit a three-pointer from the right corner for the 15-point lead, 40-25, and put Wake on an 8-0 run.
Miller ended a short Hokie run with a jumper in the lane to keep the Deacs in front.
- Another jumper and two free throws from Miller added to the lead.
Wake Forest took the 46-37 lead into the locker room.
- Miller had a game-high 14 first-half points and four rebounds.
- The Deacs shot 57 percent from the field and 64 percent from three in the opening half.
Hildreth found Reid under the basket for a slam to start the second-half scoring for the Deacs.
On the next possession, it was Miller's turn to find Reid under the basket for a bucket and the seven-point lead.
Sallis ended a Hokie run to put Wake back in front by one, 52-51.
Two plays later, Hildreth took it to the basket to get the Deacs within two.
Sallis got one up from the lane to keep it a two-point game, 58-56.
Out of the timeout, the Hokies pulled away to extend Wake's deficit to eight.
Miller got a layup off a Sallis steal to cut it to six with 8:50 left to play.
Reid hit a hook shot on the next possession to keep it at six.
Out of the timeout, Hildreth hit a free throw to cut the deficit to 10.
After a defensive stop, Miller took it to the basket to make it 76-63 Hokies with 5:28 left to play.
Friedrichsen found Carr in the lane for a bucket to make it 80-66.
- Friedrichsen then hit a three off a skip pass from Miller to get within 11.
Sallis took it all the way to the rim on the next play and Wake got within nine, 80-71, with 2:52 to play.
Wake Forest fell to Virginia Tech, 87-76.

Stats of the Game

Kevin Miller led the Deacons with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, in addition to five rebounds and six assists.
- It was his third game this season with at least 20 points, five assists and five rebounds.
- Additionally, Saturday marked Miller's eighth 20-point game of the season.
For the ninth time this season, five or more Deacs registered double figures in scoring:
- Kevin Miller – 21 points
- Efton Reid III – 13 points
- Cameron Hildreth – 12 points
- Parker Friedrichsen – 12 points
- Hunter Sallis – 11 points
The Deacs recorded 16 assists on 29 made baskets (55.2 percent) against Virginia Tech.
Making 11 three-pointers against the Hokies, Saturday involved the 10th instance this year in which Wake Forest has netted 10 or more triples in a single contest.

Coach's Comments
"Ultimately, it's on me, because we didn't execute on either side of the ball in the second half. Our guards didn't help through screens, when they did, bigs didn't get through. We got consistently beat off the bounce. We had to go to the blitz in the second half, because Cattoor and Pedulla got going and when you blitz, you have to pull in on the weak side, we didn't pull in. That's why they were just dunking the basketball. We got beat on the glass and gave up threes. Obviously, the game plan worked in the first half, we were playing really well. I think this team, for most of the year, has kind of been a team that if the shots are going, they are good on both ends, and when they're not going, then we don't have as much attention to detail defensively. Again, ultimately that's on me. Cattoor played outstanding. He's a really good player. He really hurt us in the second half. Pedulla, Kidd, they all got it going. We gave up 50 points in the second half for the third time on the road. That's just inexcusable. For a team that has a lot to play for, it's disappointing. I've tried to take the pressure off and not talk about it, but it's obviously mounting now. We have a really important homestand coming up here to finish the season." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest will wrap the regular season at home next week with two appearances inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, beginning with a Tuesday night (March 5) tilt versus Georgia Tech. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. ET and be shown on ACC Network.

Next Event

Team Stats

Kevin Miller

Efton Reid III

Cameron Hildreth

Parker Friedrichsen

Players Mentioned

Parker Friedrichsen

Cameron Hildreth

Kevin Miller

Efton Reid III

Hunter Sallis

Wake Forest Athletics